Bonesology's Summer 2019 challenge: Summer Vacation
by Dukefan1982
Summary: it's summer and that means it's time for another Bonesolgy fic writing challenge. This year we have a few choices for the challenge we can do. I am going for the first challenge option #2 which is Write either a series of connected one shots or a multi-part story where each chapter includes one of the summer-themed words from above. The challenge runs from June 22 thru September 23
1. Chapter 1 Vacation Planning

**A/N: it's summer and that means it's time for another Bonesolgy fic writing challenge. This year we have a few choices for the challenge we can do. I am going for the first challenge option #2 which is **

**Write either a series of connected one shots or a multi-part story where each chapter includes one of the summer-themed words from above. The challenge runs from June 22 thru September 23. My story takes place post season 12 unless otherwise indicated… Real life and weather permitting I am going to try and update every day. **

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"Bones let's take the kids on vacation. Christine is eight and we've never taken her on a real vacation…"

"We go see Russ, Amy and the girls every spring break and we always do something with them that she enjoys."

"I know, but it's still visiting family though, it's fun. Let's go somewhere where neither of us has been that's inside the United States. We can't do anything educational, just fun, relaxing stuff with no cell service or internet access."

"If we were to go on vacation where would you like to go?"

"The beach. Pops and Grams took me and Jared to the beach in New Jersey at least once a summer. It was always fun except for that time Jared got sun poising and Grams made us come home three days early."

"We're not going to the Jersey Shore that case was enough."

"I've always wanted to go to Virginia Beach…"

"It will be crowded…"

"Yeah, but all beaches are crowded in the summer. Plus theirs tons of stuff to do there that's not on the beach. They have houses you can rent so we could cook own own meals and stuff. Theirs an organic farm not too far from the ocean where we can get produce and stuff."

"Have you been researching beach vacations, Booth?"

"Yeah, kinda. We don't have a case and for most of the afternoon I didn't have a meeting to go to or paperwork to do. The places I found aren't on the beach, but they're within walking distance. They're on water just not the Atlantic Ocean. They have Handicap accessible houses I was thinking we could invite Hodgins, Angela and the kids. They haven't been anywhere since the accident. It's hard for them to be away from home with the wheelchair and the kids, but we can help. We can rent one of those beech wheelchairs with the huge tires." Booth grabbed Christine's iPad and brought up the house rental site he'd looked at earlier that afternoon and handed it to Brennan, she looked at it. "This house would be perfect for the height of us. Even if Angela and Hodgins don't want to go with us there are other homes in the area that we could rent. How long do you want to stay for?"

"As long as we can. We've been through a lot of bad stuff the last eight years, we all need a long break."

"I agree. I'll speak to Angela and Hodgins in the morning and then we can start planning."

"Great!"

B&B

The next morning Brennan found Angela and Hodgins' in his office finishing their coffee before getting the day started. "Hodgins, Angela, I'd like to speak to you for a few minutes."

"Sure Sweetie."

"Booth and I are taking Christine and Hank on vacation to Virginia Beach…"

"That'll be fun do you need us to keep an eye on the house while you're gone?"

"No, Booth and I would like you two plus Michael Vincent and Katie to come with us… Booth says we've all been through a lot the last few years and we all need a break…"

"I don't know Bren, the sand and Hodgins's chair… not to mention finding a house that'll accommodate the chair…"

"Booth found very nice rental homes that are accessible. They are not directly on the beach but are within walking distance. The house Booth found is on Black bay. I did further research last night after he brought up the idea of you joining us and Virginia Beach is one of the top accessible beaches in the United States. We can rent a beach wheelchair that has larger rubber tires to go over sand. "Brennan nodded toward Hodgins's computer, he turned the keyboard around and she brought up the pictures and information on the house Booth had found. "Brennan this house is beautiful, it's more than the eight of us need, but it does have room and an accessible bathroom that looks like it'd easily be big enough for the chair and it has a walk in shower."

"Actually it might be nine of us. Once we figure out dates I'm going to call Rebecca and see if she'll let Parker come with us. Booth has never went on an actual vacation with him…."

"Aw that will be good for everyone. How long are you thinking of being gone?"

"Booth wants to be gone as long as we can be, but I am thinking two weeks will be sufficient."

"Two weeks in Virginia Beach sounds like heaven…"

"I think Booth would agree with that statement. He wanted a vacation without cell reception or internet though."

"Just because it's there doesn't mean we have to use it. We can all turn our phones off and not allow the kids to bring their iPads. That will be good for everyone, even you Brennan."

"Perhaps."

"Can we think about it for a while and let you know?"

"Of course." Brennan turned and left the office. Hodgins waited a few minutes to give Brennan time to get out of earshot. "Let's do it Ange. We haven't gone anywhere since the accident. With Booth and Dr. B along it gives us extra hands to help do stuff with the kids I can't do. Plus I'll have extra help if I need it. Besides somebody has to go along to make sure Brennan actually gores on vacation. Remember their honeymoon?"

"Yep. She visited a morgue and solved a murder. Booth just followed along because he has a REALLY hard time telling Brennan no and he's as much of a work and adrenaline junkie as she is. Let's do it…"

"Hopefully Cam won't mind most of the lab being gone at the same time."

"She won't, she's been on Brennan for over a decade to use vacation days for something other than digs in faraway lands."

"Yeah, but remember last time the four of us left? Cam let the lab go to hell…"

"That won't happen this time, we'll only be gone for two weeks. Plus Cam learned her lesson."

"I'll go tell Brennan so we can start planning."

"Good. I can't wait to go."

"Neither can I, Hodgins."

B&B

Brennan reserved the house that Booth found for the last two weeks in June then she called Rebecca and told her about her planned surprise for Booth. Cam was surprised that everyone but her and the intern of the week wanted off at the same time, but she happily let them off.


	2. Chapter 2 Bathing Suit Shopping

**A/N: The list of words we were given consists of 67 words/ themes that are summer related. I am going to try and write a one shot for each word that tells one moment of the Booth/ Hodgins family's summer. Not everything will take place in Virginia Beach. Some things will take place at home, but those will be before and after they spend two weeks at the beach. All 67 stories (or as close as I can get) will be posted in this thread.**

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The countdown was on for the Booth/Hodgins family summer vacation to Virginia Beach. Brennan and Angela had gotten new summer clothes for their growing children. They got their husbands summer wear that wasn't decades old and held together by threads. Now with a week to go before they made the three and a half hour drive to their water front home for two weeks that overlooked Virginia Beach's Black Bay they were shopping for themselves. Most of their shopping had been easy loose fitting shirts and shorts or light weight pants and summer dresses. Now they were on to the more complicated part of their summer wardrobe, their bathing suits.

"You know Bren, years ago I'd just grab the skimpiest two piece I could find and I was done. But now I have to get something a bit more modest for being around the kids. Plus I'm still carrying a little baby weight here and there…"

"I'm in the same predicament, plus even though I had Hank a little over three years ago and I'm happy with how I look things aren't the same as they were before…'

"Bren, you still look hot, I've seen the way Booth looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. Like he could rip your clothes off and have his way with you right in the middle of the lab, security cameras be damned!"

Brennan blushed a little, "Hodgins looks at you the same way, Ange!"

"Yeah, but he hasn't for a while. The weight didn't fall off after I had Katie like it did with Michael Vincent."

"Ange it's only been 14 months, you look fantastic."

"Thanks, Bren." Angela held up a modest two piece green and dark blue striped bathing suit, "What do you think, Bren?"

"I like it, it should be comfortable."

"Yeah, that's the other thing I have to think about, I'm going to have to help Hodgins a lot this trip and I need something that will allow me to lift, twist and bend without giving the whole beach a show."

"We'll be on a private white sand beach…."

"Still I don't want to give Booth and the kids a show. My favorite part of the suit is it coverers everything that I need to be without looking like something granny would wear to water aerobics class…"

Brennan chuckled a little, Are you going to be able to handle helping Hodgins at the beach?"

"Yeah, most of it will be easy, the daily living stuff is what we do every day. The only hard part will be getting him OUT of the pool at the house. Getting him in will be easy, we can sit him on the side and somebody can get in the pool and slide him in. We can sort of do the reverse to get him out, but somebody is going to have lift him up onto the side of the pool and in the chair. If we can sit him on a lounge chair he can get in his chair himself."

"Can…will Hodgins be able to support himself in the pool?"

"Yeah, as long as it has a shallow end. He asked his PT the other day the best way to do it and she suggested a pool noodle and/ or a life jacket. I bought a half dozen pool noodles and a life jacket. Plus I got him an inflatable reclining pool chair to sit in and a big inflatable floating mattress thing he can lay on and float around on or Michael Vincent can push him around the pool with it. It will be hard, but I've got to make it work. I've never seen him so excited about anything since before the accident. He was excited when Katie was born, but this is a different excited. I'm just thankful I started working out with his personal trainer after Katie was born. I've gotten a lot stronger in the last year. Between the three of us and Parker if he's willing to help we can do this pool thing. We have to get him in the Ocean at least once."

"Booth, Parker and I will help however we're needed."

"Good. Now let's get you a couple suits and get out of here so we can get lunch and finish shopping."

"I actually like the style of your suit…."

"Get a couple, they've got lots of colors and patterns."

Brennan nodded and chose a plain black two piece and another one that was purple with pink geometric shapes on it.

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**A/N2: The word I used from the given list is bathing suit. Up next up the gang takes their road trip to Virginia Beach…. It probably WILL NOT be posted tomorrow….**


	3. Chapter 3 Road Trip!

It was a little after 6 in the morning when Booth pulled into the Hodgins' driveway. "Booth, we're too early, no one's up yet."

"Hodgins is up, his workout room light is on." Brennan shook her head as Booth got out of the SUV and headed up the sidewalk. Angela pulled the door open as soon as Booth knocked. "Thank God you're here..."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, just Hodgins and Michael Vincent are really excited and have been up since five and driving me crazy! Thankfully Katie is still asleep and has no idea she's spending two glorious weeks in Virginia Beach."

Booth laughed, "Christine is the same way, but as soon as we got to end of our street she and Hank were both out."

"That's good. Are you sure you don't mind Michael riding with you?"

"It's fine, Christine is looking forward to taking a road trip with him. Do you need help loading up?"

"If you could help me load Hodgins' portable lift that be good. We shouldn't need it, but it might be helpful getting him in and out of the bed or the pool."

"Sure." Twenty minutes later everyone one was loaded up and on their way. Fifteen minutes into the drive Brennan looked back to find Michael Vincent sound asleep. "Everyone is sleeping. "

"That's good. What are the odds that everyone will sleep the whole drive?"

"Not favorable considering no one has eaten breakfast yet, but we should get at least an hour of driving in before they wake up."

"I'll take what I can get." They got an hour and a half of driving in before Christine started to stir. "Mommy, I'm hungry can we eat now?"

"I saw a sign for a diner a few minutes ago, we'll stop for breakfast there in about 10 minutes."

"Okay."

"Are you excited for our trip, Christine?"

"Yep, I can't wait to go swimming and play with Michael Vincent all day!"

"Good."

"How much longer till we get there?"

"After we have breakfast we'll have about two more hours to go before we get there."

"That's a long time…"

"I know it seems like a long time but it really isn't. It's a little more time than it takes you to watch Trolls. After we get back in the car after we eat you, Michael Vincent and Hank will each get a surprise that should make the time go faster."

"Okay." When they pulled into the diner parking lot, Brennan went to the back and gently woke Michael Vincent "Are we there yet?"

Brennan chuckled, "No, we're just stopping for breakfast. Your mom and dad are parked next to us." Michael Vincent nodded and got out of the SUV and made his way over to Angela. "Hey sweetie, are you having fun riding with Christine?"

"Yeah, the SUV has comfy seats!"

"That's good."

"The SUV seats are so comfy that I've had to listen to him snore for the last hour and a half!"

"I don't snore, Uncle Booth!"

"Oh yes you do!" Booth took a sleepy Hank from Brennan and headed for the door. They were all seated quickly Christine, Hank, and Michael Vincent ordered pancakes. Katie had a plain scrambled egg. Booth had a Western omelet. Hodgins had French toast. Angela had an egg and cheese sandwich, and Brennan had oatmeal. The kids ate somewhat quickly and the gang was ready to get back on the road a little more than an hour later. Before they started driving Brennan gave Christine and Michael Vincent small backpacks filled with card games, activity books, sticker books, crayons and books to read."

"These should make the drive go by faster. I have extras of everything in case you finish the activities before we go home."

"Cool, thanks mommy. "Yeah, thanks, Aunt Brennan."

"You're both welcome, enjoy them. Brennan handed Hank his own backpack that had picture books and a few small toys inside. Then Brennan pulled a recorder like the one she used to record her findings for cases, but this one had head phones attached.

"Mommy you and daddy said that we couldn't have electronic stuff on vacation this time…."

"We did and we mean it, but I recorded myself reading your brother's favorite books for him to listen to while we drive since he can't read and isn't allowed to use crayons without supervision. It's just for the drive, when we get to the house it'll go in my bag."

"Okay."

Brennan smiled and turned to Hank, "Hank do you want to listen to your books?"

"Uh-huh." Brennan showed Hank what button to press to play the recordings and put the headphones on him. With everyone enjoying their surprises the drive continued in relative silence from the backseat except for the occasional giggle.

"Bones I can't believe they haven't nagged us for food or bathroom breaks or asked us a thousand times if we're there yet."

"I put lots of activities in their bags to keep them entertained. Plus Christine and Hank have always been good in the car. When we were on the run Christine hardly cried in the car as long as I stuck to her schedule as much as I could."

"We need to stop for groceries and stuff before we get there. The area of Virginia Beach we're staying at has its own store, but the prices are inflated because it's a tourist area. Plus they likely don't have a big organic and vegan section."

"A break from sitting will be nice." Ten minutes later everyone was walking into the grocery store, Angela and Brennan settling Katie and Hank in carts "Christine, you may choose one thing that you don't normally have to get as a treat to have while we're here."

"Can I get sugar cereal?"

"If that's what you'd like then yes."

"Cool!" Brennan smiled slightly at Christine's happiness.

"Michael Vincent you can get one thing too…"

"Thanks mom… "

The two families walked around the store loosely planning what meals to make and coming up with meat free alternatives for Brennan. Once everyone had loaded up Booth lead them to the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach and quickly found their rental house.

"Is this where we're staying, daddy? It's huge!"

"Yep, do you like it?"

"Yep."

"When you get out take your backpack and get your suitcase from the back."

"Okay." Christine got out and grabbed her bags while Michael Vincent helped Hodgins out of their van. Booth unlocked the door and let Christine and Michael Vincent inside. "Chrissy, it's got a game room…."

Booth smiled, "two bedrooms and a bathroom are also in the first floor. I was thinking Bones and I would take one bedroom down here and the kids can have the other room with two sets of bunk beds in it. Ange you and Hodgins and Katie get the second floor with the accessible bathroom, bedroom, kitchen dining room and living room. The third floor has four bedrooms, another living room and a sitting room and a couple bathrooms. There's also an office, that NO ONE will be using the two weeks we're here and a laundry room on the second floor. Lets get everything unloaded and in our rooms then we can explore."

"Angie, give me Katie, I'll take her and Hank in the game room and hang out of the way while everything gets unloaded."

"Good idea. it's almost her naptime anyway, see if you can get her to go to sleep." Angela sat Katie in Hodgins' lap and kissed them both.

"Hank, go with uncle Hodgins and Katie, you can show Uncle Hodgins your new picture books." Brennan kissed Hank's cheek and stood him on the floor.

Hank nodded and followed Hodgins into the game room. An hour later Booth had maneuvered Hodgins' portable lift into the elevator and set it up in the bedroom. While Angela got Katie settled for her nap.

"Thanks, Booth, for everything…"

"You're welcome, Ange. We'll let little Miss sleep for a while then test out the pool…"

"Sounds good."

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** A/N: I'm posting this chapter hours later than I originally intended, but RL got in the way. The house the gang is renting is real and is accessible for wheelchairs to an extent. See ya later for another vacation adventure… **


	4. Chapter 4 Forgotten Swim Trunks

While Katie was napping everyone else had a snack and explored the house, now that she was awake everyone was getting ready to go to the pool.

"MOM, I CAN'T FIND MY SWIM TRUNKS!"

"I'M COMING MICHAEL!" Angela rolled her eyes and headed for the elevator to go to the kids' room.

"I put them on your bed for you to pack with the rest of your clothes…"

"I packed them, but now I can't find them…" Angela looked though both of Michael Vincent's bags and didn't find his swim trunks.

"Let me go see if they're with your dad's."

"Okay."

Angela hurried to her and Hodgins' bedroom and started looking through their bags. "What are you looking for, Ange?"

"Michael swears he packed the three pairs of swim trunks I got him, but they're not in his bag. I was just checking to see if they got in your bag by mistake, they didn't. I guess I'll have to drive into Virginia Beach and get him more. I'd let him wear yours for today, but I doubt we could get them small enough with the drawstring. Plus they'd be too long."

"I'll go."

"I can go, I'll take him with me. Do we need anything else?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too." Angela threw shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt on over her bathing suit and grabbed her purse before heading downstairs. She ran into Booth crossing to the door. "Where are you going, Ange?"

"I need to go to the store, Michael forgot his swim trunks at home. I'm going to take him with me."

"I can take him, we forgot pool floats… stay here and relax with Hodgins."

"If you're sure…"

"Come on Michael Vincent, you and I are going to the store for stuff we forgot while your mom relaxes."

"Okay. " Michael Vincent walked out of the bedroom, Angela handed him money. "I'm not mad that you forgot to pack your swim trunks. Be good for Booth."

"I will. Bye mom."

"Bye. Thanks for taking him, Booth."

"You're welcome, Ange."

Angela headed back upstairs. "You're not going to get Michael Vincent new swim trunks, Ange? "

"Booth is taking him, he forgot to get pool floats. I'm supposed to relax with you while they're gone."

"Wanna go sit on the deck?"

"Sure." Angela crossed the dining room and opened the door and waited for Hodgins to wheel out.

"This really is a beautiful place…"

"It is. I'm glad Booth didn't get a place right on the ocean. It would have been convenient sure, but this is nicer."

"Yeah, Bren said he wanted as isolated as he could get with no cell service or internet."

"I don't have service out here, but we do have WI-FI in the house. "

"But the kids were not allowed to bring their devices…."

"Excellent!"

"Hopefully they'll have so much fun they won't even miss it. I did bring movies though for movie nights and if we have a rainy day. Are you excited about going in the pool? "

"I guess. I haven't been in the water in four years though…"

"I know, Booth and I have a plan to get you in and out."

"I don't know if I should be excited or scared…"

"Shut it. I ran it by Jean, she said it'd work as long as I had help, that's where Booth and Brennan come in."

"Well if Jean says it won't kill me then I guess I'm okay with it…" Hodgins chuckled lightly at the look Angela gave him.

"Keep it up mister and I'll just leave you in the pool…" Angela leaned over and kissed Hodgins "Love you."

"Love you too, Angie."

B&B

Booth and Michael Vincent were back and the pool floats and Hodgins' pool chair were blown up. The kids were waiting for Hodgins to get in first before they were allowed in. "Here's the plan "Hodgins, Angela and I are going to lift you out of the chair and sit you on the side of the pool. Angela is going to be behind you holding on to you in case you can't hold your balance. Then I'll get in the water and swing your legs over the side and slide you in whenever you're ready. Bones is going be holding whichever pool float you want to try first still while we get you in it."

"Okay. I want to try the chair first." Brennan nodded and picked up the chair and got in the pool. Angela handed Hodgins his life jacket, he put it on.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be..."

Angela got behind the wheelchair and put her arms under Hodgins' "Hodgins, relax we're not going to drop you, nothing is going to happen…" Hodgins nodded a little as Booth grabbed his legs. "Ready? On three. 1…2…"before Hodgins could really react he was sitting on a towel beside the pool, Angela was holding on to his shoulders. Booth got in the pool and carefully swung Hodgins' legs into the water. "Hodgins, I'm not going to let you fall if you did you'd just float. Ready to go all the way in?"

"Yeah." Booth slid Hodgins in the pool and stood him up so Brennan could slide the pool chair into place. "You do realize you're standing up…"

"No…"

"Well you are. Now I'm going to sit you back in the chair so, we all can have some fun." Once Hodgins was in the hair and comfortable Angela put on Katie's water wings and sat her in her dad's lap. She pushed the chair away from the edge of the pool and went to Michael Vincent. A little bit late Booth came over to Hodgins "Are you having fun, Hodgins?"

"Yeah, thanks for helping Angie get me in here. It's just nice to float and hold Katie. Kicking your ass in basketball is the icing on the cake…"

"You're welcome. We're having a basketball rematch tomorrow, you're not getting Christine and Michael Vincent on your team while all I get is Hank. I get Michael Vincent and Hank you get Christine and Bones…"

Hodgins laughed, "Deal."

"Do you wasn't to use the other float?"

"Sure."

"Michael Vincent, when I stand your dad up pull the float out from under him so Bones can put the new one under him. You need to be fast."

"Okay." The three of them quickly got Hodgins on the other float. After a few minutes Angela climbed on the float beside Hodgins. "So this is why you got a two person float?"

"That and I wasn't sure how you'd be able to use it. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah, I got to tale Katie for her first swim and I got to play basketball with Michael Vincent, and now I'm floating in the pool with my favorite girl… it's been a great first day of vacation…."

"Good. I'm enjoying myself too… "

"Everybody is… even Brennan…"

"Yeah, for someone who says relaxing makes her tense, she looks pretty relaxed helping Hank float with a pool noodle…"


	5. Chapter 5 Surprise Visit

The Booth and Hodgins families had just finished breakfast on their second full day of vacation.

"Mommy, what are we going to do today?"

"You're probably going to have another pool day, Christine. It's up to daddy, Aunt Angela, and uncle Hodgins. I need to run an errand."

"Bones, we're on vacation what errand could you have to do?"

"I need to pick up a surprise I got for you to enjoy on vacation. It wasn't going to be ready in time to bring with us so I arranged to pick it up in Norfolk. I should be back in two hours or less…"

"I wish you'd tell me what you were going to pick up…"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise anymore…"

"Bones…"

"Booth, I need to go I don't want to be late…"

"Fine, take Angela with you then…"

"Booth, I've led digs in countries you've never heard of with the threat of being kidnapped hanging over me. I can handle one small errand to a highly populated city…"

"Fine, but I don't like it…"

"Noted, but I think you will once you see it. I love you, Booth."

"Love you too, Bones." Booth leaned in and kissed Brennan. "Call if you're going to be later than two hours."

"I will."

"I wanna come with you mommy…" Brennan bent down and picked up Hank. "Sweetheart you need to stay here and keep Daddy company while I go get his surprise. Can you do that?"

"Uh-huh."

"Thank you." Brenan kissed Hank's forehead and handed him to Booth. As soon as the door closed behind Brennan, Angela touched Booth's shoulder, he turned toward her.

"Bren will be fine, Booth…"

"So you know what the surprise is?"

"Yes. I cannot tell you so don't ask. Brennan has been looking forward to giving you this surprise more than she has the vacation itself. Let her have her moment."

"Okay. Hank, do you want to go swimming until mommy gets back with my surprise?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay go tell Christine and Michael Vincent what we're going to do then get a clean pair of swim trunks to put on."

"Okay." Booth put Hank down and watched him go down the stairs to the kid's room. "Chrissy, daddy say we can swim again!"

B&B

Two and a half hours later Brennan let herself in the front door and smiled when she noticed everyone was still outside. She quickly went down to the first floor and out to the pool. Booth and Angela were getting Hodgins back in his wheelchair. Once their task was done Booth noticed Brennan. "Hey Bones, you're back!"

"Yes, I got stuck in traffic on the way back. Your surprise is outside by the front door, I couldn't bring it all the way in the house. You don't want to leave it outside too long."

"Okay." Booth grabbed a towel and headed inside. Brennan picked up Hank and wrapped his Batman towel around him. "Christine, come on and see what daddy's surprise it."

"Okay." Christine grabbed her frozen towel and followed Brennan and Hank inside. Brennan and the kids got to the entryway just as Booth opened the door. "PARKER!"

"Surprise!" Parker was barely inside the house when Booth wrapped him in a bone crushing hug.

"What are you doing here?"

"Bones called mom and asked her if I could come on vacation with you guys as a surprise. I wanted to come and drive here with you guys, but I had to finish some stuff for my summer class first."

"Bones you're getting better at surprising me… how long are you staying?"

"School doesn't start until the middle of September so mom said I could stay until three days after Labor Day…"

"Great!"

"PARKER!"

"Christine!" Parker easily scooped Christine up as she ran to him.

"I'm so glad you're here!"

"Me too."

"Hank, say hi to Parker…"

"No."

"He's shy with people he doesn't see often."

"That's okay. We have two and a half months to change that…"

"Can we go swimming again now that Parker is here?"

"Later. Parker needs to rest first, he's had a long flight."

"Parker, you can say in the room with me Hank and Michael Vincent. "There's a top bunk!"

Parker the third floor has four bedrooms, a living room a sitting room, and a couple bathrooms. We aren't using any of the rooms up there, you'd have the whole floor to yourself."

"I'll bunk with the kids, it might be fun. However I reserve the right to move to the third floor at any time."

Booth laughed, "fair enough."

"Everyone needs to go change and then meet in the upstairs we'll watch a movie and have popcorn."

"Yea!" Parker put Christine down and watched as she ran to the elevator.

"Do you like your surprise, Booth?"

"I love my surprise, Bones."

"I'm glad. Tomorrow we can do something besides hangout at the pool all day."

"Good."

"I didn't want Parker to miss any of the activities we did."

"I understand. I can't believe Rebecca is letting Parker stay for over two months."

"I was surprised too, but he is going to college next year, this is likely the last vacation we'll take together."

"Don't say that, Bones." Brennan kissed Booth and went to their bedroom to help Hank change into dry clothes.

B&B

Fifteen minutes later the nine of them were sitting on the couches off the dining room watching Mary Poppins and eating popcorn. Parker, Christine, Hank and Brennan piled on one couch with Booth.

A/N The whole family has made it to the beach hideaway on Back Bay … let the fun begin….


	6. Chapter 6 Airplanes and Fresh fruit

It was a little after 9 when Parker sleepily made his way upstairs to the kitchen. "Good morning, Parker."

Parker looked over to find Brennan sitting on the couch reading an Anthropology journal.

"Morning Bones."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, the top bunk is really comfortable. Everybody went right to sleep. I got up once to use the bathroom and I covered Hank back up, his sheets and blankets were all twisted up."

Brennan smiled as she walked around the couch to the kitchen. "Hank is a restless sleeper, he gets it from your dad. What would you like for breakfast? Your dad made everyone pancakes. I can make some for you or I can have your dad make them if that's what you'd prefer."

"Ah, I think I'll just have toast."

Brennan nodded, "the bread is on the counter and we have an assortment of jelly in the refrigerator."

Parker picked up the loaf of bread, "oatnut?"

"It's the only bread that your dad will eat without complaint that isn't white bread. I did buy white for grilled cheese, I do agree with your dad that oatnut bread doesn't make a good grilled cheese sandwich."

"I miss Pops' grilled cheese." Parker put some bread in the toaster and got a small plate from the cabinet. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a jar of strawberry jelly. "You got the squeezable jelly, Bones?"

"Hank saw it and wanted to get it and since it was vacation I gave in. I also gave in and allowed Christine to buy a box of cocoa puffs." Brennan shrugged. Parker chuckled and went to get his toast that popped up.

"Where is everyone?" Parker sat at the breakfast bar.

"They are outside in the pool, your dad took Christine out there because she wanted to wake you up at 7."

"I'm glad she didn't even though it would have been noon in London and I'd be finishing up my class. The flight was long and I was tired."

"I know. As soon as everyone gets done swimming we're going to explore the Pungo district of Virginia Beach. It's 8,000 acres of farmland you can drive through and visit farmers markets. It has other stores too. Plus the Virginia Military Aviation Museum is located there. We can go there then go to the farmers markets."

"Sounds fun. Do you want to leave now?"

"You can go swimming if you'd like… leave your dishes I'll take care of them…"

"Thanks, Bones. You're the best." Parker headed back to his room to change into swim trunks, but not before giving Brennan a one armed hug.

B&B

Two hours later after some more swimming with Parker and a quick sandwich the two families took a short drive they entered the museum. "Look mommy, Planes!"

"Those are very special planes, Hank. Why don't you let daddy carry you so he can tell you all about them?"

"K." Brennan handed Hank to Booth and hung back with Angela and Katie just watching Booth spend time with all his kids explaining Military aviation history. "Don't worry, Bren I'm getting it all on film. Michael Vincent is enjoying it because he's still young enough to think the Military is fun. It also helps that he idolizes Booth a little."

"Yes, I'm just glad Booth is able to spend time with all of his children like this."

A few hours later the group was done visiting the museum and stopped by the Jurassic park at the entrance to the Virginia Beach airport to visit the dinosaur sculptures and let Hank run off a little energy. After promising Hank they'd come back and see the dinosaurs again before they went home everyone loaded up and visited different farm stands where Brennan loaded up on all kids of fresh fruit and vegetables.

"Bones, why are you getting so much fruit and vegetables?"

"We have to make meals for nine people for the next week and a half, it takes a lot of food. Plus the children like fresh fruit and vegetables mostly. I'm only buying the things they'll eat willingly. Vacation isn't the time to try and get Christine try asparagus again… plus all this stuff is locally grown and in season. It's a great time for fresh fruit and berries"

"We're never going to get her to eat asparagus…"

"Perhaps not. Hand me another cantaloupe, please …" Booth handed Brennan the requested melon.

B&B

Before heading back to the rental house the group stopped for pizza and ice cream.

"I really enjoyed today, Bones. The Virginia Military Aviation Museum was so cool. Pops would have love it."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Booth. I did too. I think the children did too, our three and Michael Vincent are asleep."

"Sign of a good day, kids asleep in the back seat…"

A/N the gang is finally going to Virginia Beach for a few stories coming up next


	7. Chapter 7 Beach Day!

**A/N I'm posting the THREE SEPARATE CHAPTERS that make up the gangs day at the beach at once because they're short. This is CHAPTER 1 of 3…**

* * *

Everyone was up early and ready to go to Virginia Beach, even though the beach was within walking distance they decided to drive given Hodgins' chair and all the stuff they had to bring to insure nine people were happy at the beach. Once they parked and got out Brennan and Angela covered their protesting kids and husbands in sunscreen. "We'll check out the boardwalk then we'll come back to our cars and get our stuff and get one of those beach wheelchairs for the day and hit the beach. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

"All right let's go." Booth put Hank on his shoulders, Christine took Parker's hand Brennan took Michael Vincent's hand, and Angela plopped Katie on Hodgins lap and started pushing his wheelchair down the three mile boardwalk. The group checked out shops along the way and decided on where to have their lunch or dinner depending on how long they stayed on the beach. When they got half way down the boardwalk they decided to stop go back get all their stuff and get a chair for Hodgins then head to the beach. Booth and Parker got Hodgins transferred into the chair easily and Booth took Katie while Angela took Hodgins down one of the many access ramps and across the beach to the water.

"I never thought I'd be able to do this again…"

"I know…Here comes Michael Vincent and Booth with Katie, Christine, and Hank."

"Here's Katie." Booth put her in Hodgins' lap. "Can these two hang with you while we get everything set up? Christine is too excited to listen to Parker and Hank isn't comfortable with him yet."

"Sure. We'll look for shells."

"Great. Hank hold Christine's hand and listen to Aunt Angela."

"Okay."

"Mommy, Parker, and I will be done in a few minutes. Christine BEHAVE!"

"I will, daddy…"

A little while later the beach chairs and umbrellas were set up, and the Booth family was walking down the beach in the opposite direction of the Hodgins's looking for shells.

* * *

**A/N2: Be sure to hit the NEXT button to see how the rest of the day at the beach goes…**


	8. Chapter 8 Sandcastle Competition

**A/N I'm posting the THREE SEPARATE CHAPTERS that make up the gangs day at the beach at once because they're short. This is CHAPTER 2 of 3…**

* * *

After everyone had enough of looking for shells they all headed back to their beach set up. Brennan and Angela had everyone reapply sunscreen with that done the kids got out their buckets and shovels and began playing in the sand.

"Hodgins, do you want to sit in a beach chair? It might be more comfortable than the wheelchair, Parker and I can get you in and out."

"Yeah, this chair isn't that comfortable. I should have had Angie put my wheelchair cushion in it."

"When we come back I'll put it in." Parker and Booth put Hodgins in the beach chair that was right next to Katie under an oversize beach umbrella. The toddler put down the plastic cup she was scooping sand with and watching it fall and started climbing onto Hodgins' lap, he easily lifted her up and sat her in his lap. "Are you having fun, Katie?" the toddler just snuggled in to her dad's arms. Everybody was enjoying the day, Christine, Michael Vincent, and Hank were playing in the sand. Booth and Parker were walking along the water talking. Brennan and Angela were talking while keeping an eye on the younger kids. Katie and Hodgins were dozing under their umbrella. The peace and quiet was broken by Christine's loud shriek, Booth was at her side in an instant. "Christine, what's wrong?"

"Hank keeps smashing our sandcastle! This is the third time we've had to rebuild it…"

"Hank, it isn't nice to smash other people's things. Tell Chrissy and Michael Vincent you're sorry."

"I sorry, Chrissy!"

"It's okay, but you can't play with us anymore…" Hank started to cry.

"Hey Tiger, we can build our own sandcastle that will be better than Chrissy and Michael Vincent's! In fact let's divide into teams of two and see who can build the best sandcastle! Hank and I will be a team. Who do you want to be on your team, Christine?"

"Parker."

"Okay."

"Michael Vincent?"

"Dad."

"Great! Bones and Angela can judge or somebody can build a sandcastle for Katie."

"Angela can judge. I'll sit with Katie and see if I can't get her settled down and back to sleep." Brennan walked over and took a whimpering Katie from Hodgins and went back to her own beach chair and umbrella.

"What do we get if we win?"

"A lifetime supply of hugs from me anytime you need or want one… Same goes for you Booth… and a candy bar of your choice for our next movie night."

"Cool. Hodgins, you're not going to slug me if I redeem my prize someday are you? "

"Nah, Angie gives the best hugs." Booth laughed and started on his and Hank's sandcastle.

B&B

For the next hour or so the three teams worked in silence on their sandcastles, Angela walked around and took pictures of the process. Once everyone had finished building their sandcastles Angela went around and carefully examined each one then she went and stood by Brennan.

"All of the sandcastles were so good, that I can't pick a winner so, everybody wins!"

"Smooth Angie…"

"Are you going to tell either one of Booth and Brennan's oldest kids that one is better at something than the other? Not to mention our son has a crazy competitive streak…"

"You're right, for the sake of a peaceful rest of our vacation everybody wins..."

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**A/N2: Be sure to hit the NEXT button to see how the day at the beach ends…**


	9. Chapter 9 Standing in the Ocean

**A/N I'm posting the THREE SEPARATE CHAPTERS that make up the gangs day at the beach at once because they're short. This is CHAPTER 3 of 3…**

* * *

With the sandcastle judging completed the kids let Hank smash the three castles to just a piles of sand and started over building a huge sandcastle together that Hank didn't smash.

"It's nice to see all of our kids get along so well most of the time."

"Yes, Christine loves Hank so much and is a wonderful big sister to him. They do annoy each other on occasion though."

"That's normal. Michael Vincent tolerates Katie. I'm hoping that once she's a little older he'll interact with her more."

"I'm sure he will."

"Do you need me to take her?"

"No, she's sleeping comfortably and I'm enjoying holding her. Hank is in an anti-holding stage at the moment…"

"Aww, hold her as long as you want, Bren. I'm going to see if Hodgins wants to take a walk on the beach while the kids are occupied."

"Enjoy."

B&B

By the time the kids were done building their sandcastle and Angela had taken a lot of pictures of it, Katie had woken up from her nap. Angela decided to take her to stand in the ocean for the first time, Michael Vincent went with them.

"Do you want to go with them, Hodgins?"

"Nah, let them enjoy it…"

Booth shook his head and rummaged through their stuff for Hodgins' life jacket and handed it to him. "Put that on…"

"Why?"

"Because you're going to go stand in the ocean with your wife and kids. I'll be in front of you and Parker will be behind you…"

"Booth…" Booth started pushing the chair toward the water. He parked the chair a few feet away from where Angela and the kids were in hopes that they wouldn't notice what he was doing right away. He and Parker got Hodgins standing.

"Angie?"

Angela looked over at Hodgins and blinked, "You're standing…."

"Yep, come here…"

Angela quickly turned Katie who wasn't sure what to think about the fact that her daddy just got very tall toward him and walked over. Once Katie was close enough she let go of Angela's hand and grabbed Hodgins' leg. Brennan stood a few feet away taking pictures of the unforgettable moment as Angela leaned in for a kiss.


	10. Chapter 10 Alone Time

The next morning Booth rolled over wrapped an arm around Brennan and looked at the clock, "it's almost eight and I don't hear anyone else up."

"The kids were wore out last night, all morning at the beach then all afternoon in the pool. Nobody fought me or Angela about going to bed last night. Parker was even in bed before 10…"

"Yeah, this has been a really good vacation though. I think we should get a pool, one of those accessible ones so Hodgins can use it."

"That would be a good idea. We'll talk about it more when we got home and get it started in the spring."

" Okay. Do you want to take our coffee and walk on our private beach and look at the sand dunes and spend some time alone before we have to take four very excited kids back to the beach?"

"I would enjoy that very much."

"I'm going to get ready and make our coffee." Brennan nodded and watched Booth get out of bed before got up. Ten minutes later Booth was waiting for Brennan on the deck off the kitchen with two steaming cups of coffee. He turned his head when the door quietly opened. "Wow! Bones you're so beautiful…" Brennan blushed and walked to Booth, "thanks, Booth." Booth pulled Brennan to him and handed he a cup of coffee, before picking up his own and got up never letting go of Brennan's hand. They started walking off the deck toward the dock. "That's not your normal' hanging out at the pool with the kids' suit.'" Brennan chuckled and looked down at her bright red bikini." No, it's not. I saw it the other day when I had to exchange Christine's shoes and decided to get it. I was hoping we'd get a little alone time… I take it you like it?"

"Very much…" Brennan laughed a little and kissed Booth. They walked hand in hand onto the dock. Booth put his arm around Brennan and held her close. "Are you enjoying our vacation, Bones?"

"Yes. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I have, you know that relaxing makes me tense. It's nice to spend time with Angela and Hodgins."

"You didn't look tense when you were holding Katie yesterday…"

"I wasn't. I really miss when Christine and Hank were toddlers…"

"Are you ready to open the door on having another baby, Bones?"

"Possibly, we can discuss it further when we get home." Brennan smiled and leaned into Booth's arms.

"Okay."

B&B

Ten minutes later Angela opened her and Hodgins' bedroom door with Katie in her arms to a worried looking Hank on the other side.

"What's wrong Hank?"

"I can't find mommy and daddy!"

"I'm sure they're around here somewhere let's go look for them."

"Okay." Angela held out her hand and Hank took it. The trio headed into the kitchen, Angela smiled as she noticed a note from Booth scrawled on a paper towel hanging on the refrigerator. She put Katie down and picked up Hank, heading to the refrigerator. "You're daddy left us a note, it says,' Bones and I went for a walk to the sand dunes. Be back in a while. Booth.' Your mommy and daddy went for a walk, they'll be back in a while. Why don't you go watch cartoons with Katie while I make breakfast?"

"Okay." Angela kissed the side of Hank's forehead and took Katie's hand, leading her to the couch. When the kids were settled, Angela looked out the window and smiled, Booth and Brennan were standing on the dock in the distance kissing. Angela was dipping bread slices in a milk, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla mixture for baked French toast when Hodgins wheeled into the kitchen. "No one else is up?"

"Brenan and Booth got up before us and are taking a walk to the sand dunes. From what I saw when I looked out the window earlier they're engaged in a serious make out session on the dock…"

Hodgins laughed, "Good for them…"

"Yeah. Hank and Katie are watching cartoons on the couch. The other three are still asleep."

B&B

Booth and Brennan had enjoyed their coffee in peace and quiet and they talked about anything and everything, but work. Booth looked at his watch, "it's a little after 9 we should head back, if they're not up we need to get them up and get the day started."

"Yes. I really enjoyed our walk and coffee."

"I did too, we'll have to do it again before we go home."

"I would enjoy that very much."

B&B

When Booth and Brennan got back to the house she threw on one of Booth's old Flyers t-shirts over her bathing suit before they went into the house.

"MOMMY!" Brennan scooped Hank up as he ran to her.

"Hi sweetheart."

"I woke up and you were gone…"

"I was taking a walk with daddy…" Brennan waked over to Hank's place at the table and sat him in his chair. "Sit down while I help Angela with breakfast." Brennan kissed the tops of Parker and Christine's heads as she made her way to the kitchen.

Brennan picked up a plate and put a slice of the toast on it before topping it with butter and a little real maple syrup, she added a scoop of fruit salad and sausage links before making another identical plate for Christine. "Bren, did you enjoy your walk with Booth?"

"Yes, very much."

"That's good." Brennan blushed a little and started cutting Hank's French toast.

The families fished breakfast and were going to head to the pool for a while. "I'll be right out as soon as I change my bathing suit…"

"Don't change it, Bones…"

A/N the word from the list was bikini…


	11. Chapter 11 Happy Birthday Booth

It was Booth's birthday and everyone had spent the day relaxing at the beach and having fun, after having lunch at a diner they'd found on the boardwalk they headed back to the house and were in the pool. Brennan called an early end to her pool time and headed to the Pungo district to get supplies for Booth's surprise birthday dinner. She had just gotten started on the dinner when Angela, Hank and Katie came upstairs to the kitchen. "These two have had enough of the pool for today. I'm going to get them settled with a movie then I'll help you. The others won't be in for a while, they just started another basketball game when we got out. "

"Good. I've got all the berries trimmed and sliced for the strawberry-blueberry birthday cobbler. You can prepare the shrimp while I do the vegetables. I started the water boiling for the macaroni and cheese. If Parker or Hodgins comes in before Booth they can cook the steak."

"Sounds good, Bren. Why are you making so much food?"

"Occasionally when we go out to the seafood place Booth will order the surf n turf platter it's his favorite. I thought I'd recreate it. The macaroni and cheese is for the kids, Christine and Hank would rather have pasta than meat. It's also a favorite of Booth's. The grilled vegetables are a side that goes with all of it. Booth likes pie more than cake and since strawberries and blueberries are in season here I found a recipe for strawberry-blueberry cobbler. It would probably be easier to go to a restaurant for his birthday, but he asked that I not make a big deal out of it…"

"I think it's sweet, Brennan."

B&B

Awhile later a showered and changed Booth came upstairs with Parker, Christine, and Michael Vincent following him. The dining room table was set with the plates that were included with the kitchen, not the paper plates they had been using and balloons and streamers were hanging all over the celling.

"Bones, what is all this?"

"This is your birthday dinner. You asked me not to make a big deal out of it, which is why we're celebrating at home with friends instead of going out. We're having steak, oven baked garlic lemon shrimp, grilled vegetables, and macaroni and cheese. We're having strawberry-blueberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream for dessert." Booth crossed the room and pulled Brennan to him. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth. Happy Birthday!"

"Happy Birthday, daddy!"

"Thanks, guys!"

After dinner Brennan brought out a huge pan of strawberry-blueberry cobbler topped with 48 lit candles. Booth shook his head as she carefully set it in front of him. "Christine, Hank, Michael Vincent, I'm gonna need help to blow all of these out…"

"Make a wish, daddy!"

"I did…ready…go!" Once the candles were out Booth topped bowls of warm cobbler with scoops of ice cream.

"Bones, this is the best cobbler I've ever had!"

"I'm glad you like it, Booth."

After everyone had eaten their cobbler and ice cream and cleaned up Booth moved to the couches off the kitchen to open his gifts. "Open the one from me and Hank first, daddy!"

"Okay."

Booth chuckled softly at the Mickey Mouse Birthday gift bag Christine handed him.

"Hank picked the bag out…"

"He did a good job, I love Mickey Mouse…" Booth withdrew a tie that was different shades of orange and matching socks and pocket square. "I love my tie, matching socks and pocket square, I'll wear them to work my first day back. Thanks Christine. Thanks Hank."

"You're welcome, daddy."

Booth picked up a green gift bag from Parker and withdrew a Flyers insulated travel mug. "Thanks, Parks. I needed a new mug."

"You're welcome, dad."

Booth opened the last gift bag, it contained the complete John Wayne film collection it was from Angela, Hodgins, Michael Vincent, and Katie. "This is so cool, I can't wait to get home and watch them. Thanks guys."

"You're welcome, Booth."

Brennan handed Booth a long flat box wrapped in shiny red paper. Booth tore the paper off and opened the box, he looked at the tickets in the box and up at Brennan. "Bones, you got me tickets to a Phillies vs Nationals game and Citizens Bank Park tour tickets?"

"Yes, I thought you and Parker would enjoy going together…"

Booth quickly wrapped Brennan in a tight hug, "Bones, you're the best!"

"I take it you're pleased with your gift?"

"Yes, I love it so much… Thanks Bones." They kissed.

"You're welcome, Booth. Happy Birthday!"

B&B

Later everyone was in bed, Brennan rolled over to face Booth, "Did you enjoy your birthday, Booth?"

"Yes, thank you for planning it."

"You're welcome."

"Don't put candles on my cobbler next year, you'll burn down the house…"

Brennan chuckled, "that's highly unlikely, Booth…"


	12. Chapter 12 Daddy's Sunhat

Everybody was at the beach again, they'd fallen into a routine, get up have breakfast and go to the beach and stay until lunch. Have lunch at a diner on the boardwalk, then get in the pool and not get out until Brennan and Angela made them come in for dinner. Brennan had planned on doing different activities on and off Virginia Beach, but everyone was happy and content doing nothing so she let them be. In all the years she'd known Booth she couldn't remember ever seeing him so relaxed and happy. Brennan and Angela were sitting in beach chairs under an umbrella with books and magazines. Hodgins was sitting in a beach chair under another umbrella with Katie, the toddler was happily scooping sand up with a plastic cup and dumping it in a bucket when the bucket was full Hodgins would tip it over and empty the sand. Katie would giggle and fill it up for Hodgins to empty again. Booth and Parker were helping Christine, Hank and Michael Vincent build a huge sandcastle.

"Bren, isn't Hank's sunhat too big for him? I don't remember it being that big yesterday…"

Brennan smiled, "Yes, because he insisted on wearing Booth's this morning. Instead of trying to get Hank to wear his properly sized sunhat, Booth just grabbed the FBI hat he keeps in the SUV…"

"Aww that's cute. When Michael was about his age he insisted on wearing Hodgins' boots around the house on the weekends for a few months. I think he just like the noise he made when he walked in them more than actually wearing the boots."

Angela got up and started taking pictures of the sandcastle construction and Hodgins making Katie giggle by just emptying her sand bucket. She even managed to get Hank to push Booth's hat back just enough so she could see his face and smile at her for a picture.

* * *

** A/N I'm posting two unrelated chapters tonight so be sure to hit the next button….**


	13. Chapter 13 Thunder

The beach house was quiet, the nine people inside were sleeping soundly in their beds. A storm was rolling in, but thunder wasn't loud enough to wake anyone up yet. A loud clap of thunder rolled through the house a half hour later. Everyone woke up for a few minutes, but most were able to find a cool spot on their pillows and go back to sleep. Three year old Hank wasn't going to go back to sleep so easily, when the thunder paused for a few seconds he quickly got out of the bottom bunk and headed for Booth and Brennan's bedroom. Parker heard the bottom bunk move and knew Hank was up, "Hank, where are you going?"

"I want mommy and daddy!"

"Hang on a second, I'll take you to them." Parker got out of bed and grabbed his phone quickly turning on the flashlight. Hank jumped at another loud clap of thunder.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Hank nodded a little.

"Here you carry my phone, don't block the light…" Parker picked Hank up and started down the hall to Booth and Brennen's bedroom. Booth was awake as soon as he saw the dim light in the hallway.

"Parks, what is it?" Booth turned on the light.

"Hank's scared of the thunder and wants you guys…" Parker walked over to the bed, Hank practically launched himself onto the bed and over Booth to Brennan as soon as he was close enough.

"Thanks for bring him to us, Parker."

"You're welcome. I didn't want him walking into walls or something…"

"Go back to bed, bub. If Christine gets scared she can make it in here by herself." Parker nodded and left the bedroom. The thunder clapped again and Hank attached himself to Brennan, she rubbed his back. "Hank, thunder is nothing to be scared of, it's loud but it can't hurt you. Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending on the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble. The-"

"Bones, save the science lesson for when it's not 3AM and he's scared out of his mind. Tiger, thunder is just the clouds talking to each other. Like mommy said, it can't hurt you."

"Booth…"

"Bones…3AM…"

"Hank, let go of me so you can lay between me and daddy." Hank let Brennan lay him down in the bed and snuggled as close to her as he could get. Booth turned off the light and kissed Hank's forehead.

"Hank is usually not afraid of storms…"

"Different bed, different house and being this close to the lake makes them sound different. Plus it's an insane storm, Bones. If he gets too restless I'll grab a blanket and go sit in the game room with him…"

"Thanks Booth."

* * *

**A/N the storm chapters will continue … I need to research lightning turning sand into glass more first. That chapter will be mostly Hodgins and the kids **


	14. Chapter 14 Stormy Day In

Booth and Brennan were wide awake, but not because the storm raged outside. They were awake because they couldn't get Hank settled down. The three year old was asleep but tossing and turning between them, his limbs ending up in places they weren't meant to be. "I'm going to take him into the game room before I lose a kidney!" Booth moved Hank's foot that was pressing into his right side.

"That would be a good idea, he's asleep but he's not resting…"

"Neither are we, hopefully he'll relax if I hold him."

"I hope so. I feel bad for him." Booth got up and picked up Hank, the three year old molded himself to Booth. Brennan walked over to them and put a spare blanket around Hank and kissed the back of his head. Booth left the bedroom and walked down the hall to the game room and closed the blinds then he carefully sat down in a chair and put his feet up. Booth positioned Hank so the little boy was laying on his chest. A loud clap of thunder rolled through the house, Hank gabbed a hold of Booth's t-shirt and whimpered a little. "Hank, I know the thunder is loud and scary, but you're safe, it can't hurt you. I'm here and mommy's down the hall. Go back to sleep, the thunder will be over soon."  
After a few minutes of sitting in the chair Booth got up and started pacing the room and rubbing Hank's back. On one of his passes he noticed Hank's favorite stuffed frog sitting on the couch, he stopped and picked it up and went back to the chair and sat down. "Look who I found, how about you get snuggly with Ribbit and go back to sleep? I'll still hold you…" Hank didn't say anything, he just grabbed Ribbit with one hand and buried his head in Booth's shoulder. After another half hour of Hank jumping a little every time thunder clapped and Booth rubbing his back he fell asleep.

B&B

Later that morning the thunder storm had stopped but it was still raining hard. Brennan got dressed and peeked in the game room, Booth was sill siting in the chair holding Hank, they were both still sleeping. Brennan found everyone else in the kitchen.

"Morning Bren. Is Booth still sleeping?"

"Yes, Hank got scared of the storm last night and got in bed between us, but he still couldn't settle down enough to sleep soundly so Booth took him to the game room to try and settle him. I just looked in there, they're both still asleep."

"Aww. Poor Hank and poor you guys. Katie got up once, but she just needed to be changed and she went right back to sleep."

"I wish it were that easy for Hank. He's usually not afraid of storms, but last night he was…"

"Brennan that was an insane storm. Hodgins got up and went on the deck to watch it though." Angela shook her head and handed Brennan a cup of coffee.

"I think we'll just stay here today and have a lazy day..."

"That will be nice, Hank and Booth need to sleep."

"I wish we could go in the pool though…."

"Christine, you can take a break from the pool. Eat your cereal."

Christine made a face before scooping up another bite of Coca Puffs, Brennan smiled and kissed the top of her head as she went to pour her own cereal.

B&B

It was after ten when Booth carried a still pajama chad Hank upstairs and sat him in Brennan's lap. "Hi Booth."

"Hey Bones." they kissed.

"Did you sleep?"

"Finally. He fell asleep a little after 5."

"At least you both got some sleep…"

"Yeah, sleeping in that chair didn't kill my back too much…"

"That's good. We're staying in today since it's still raining on and off."

"Sounds perfect to me…"

"I was just thinking about making tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch…"

"I can make Pops' grilled cheese let me get some coffee first though."

"That'd be great." Brennan stood up and turned around to put Hank in the chair she was sitting in. "I can take him, Brennan…"

"Do you want Angela to hold you while daddy and I make lunch?" Hank nodded a little and Brennan kissed his cheek before handing him to Angela and joining Booth in the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N I will get to lightning turning sand into glass in the next chapter… will be the middle next week before I post it…**


	15. Chapter 15 Lightning Does the Work

After everyone finished lunch Christine, Parker, Hank, Michael Vincent, and Hodgins started doing a jigsaw puzzle they found in the game room in the dining room so that Booth could hopefully take a peaceful nap. Katie was playing with her toys, Angela was drawing and Brennan was working on ideas for her new book. Everyone was surprised when the hard rain that had been falling most of the morning tuned in to a thunderstorm bringing with it lots of lightning. Hank was okay with it at first because the storm wasn't that close, but on a particularly loud clap of thunder and bright lightning flash  
Hank got up from his chair.

"Hank, where are you going?"

"I want mommy…"

"Okay, but come here first so I can tell you guys about something really cool that lightning can do at the beach…" Hank walked over to Hodgins and he picked him up and sat him on his lap.

"Lightning is dangerous, but it can turn sand into glass. Glass is made up of mostly silica. Most sand on beaches is silica sand. Sometimes during thunderstorms lightning will strike the beach and the heat from the lightning will heat the sand around the lightning strike to 1,800 degrees and melt it, the melted sand forms a fulgurite. Fulgurites are hollow glass tubes that look a little like roots, they're not clear like the glasses we drink out of. "

Hodgins took out his phone and pulled up a picture of a fulgurite. "Mommy said no electronics on this trip…"

Hodgins chuckled softly, "we all did, but this is okay because it's educational." Hodgins passed his phone around so everyone could see what they looked like. "It doesn't look like glass… it looks like a petrified stick with spikey things on it…" Michael Vincent passed the phone to Christine.

"Fulgurites are also referred to as petrified lighting."

"There are two types of fulgurites, formed when lightning hits sand and those created from rock."

"Can we go look for some?"

"Fulgurites created from lighting striking the beach are fragile and rare. They're usually buried in sand and hard to find, so no we're not going to go look for them. The Jeffersonian has some that we can arrange for you guys to look at when we get back."

"Cool."

His fear of thunder momentarily forgotten, Hank picked up a puzzle peace and put it in place. Hodgins saw Brennan standing in the kitchen doorway, he gave her a thumbs up she smiled and went back to the small office off the kitchen to work on her book.


	16. Chapter 16 Hiking and Talking

Booth and Brennan were standing on the dock enjoying their morning coffee in peace and quiet. "Bones, I'm going to see if Parker wants to go hiking today, it's not going to be too hot. I'd like for it to be just the two of us though…"

Brennan smiled, "you need one-on-one time with Parker. Something is bothering him…"

"So it's not just me reading too much into him?"

"No, I noticed it as soon as I picked him up at the airport. The closer we got to the house the quieter he became."

"You don't think he doesn't want to be here with us do you?"

"Booth, I'm sure Parker wants to be here with us. He's seventeen years old and he's going to be going off to college and a little over a year from now, he has a lot of things on his mind. I did at his age, the only difference is I didn't have a parent to talk to about it…"

"Bones…"

"Booth, I'm fine I didn't say that so you'd feel sorry for me or something."

"I don't feel sorry for you, Bones. It still makes me mad all these years later that Max put you through that…"

"Mom too…"

"Yeah, but Max was the mastermind behind it."

"Christine is going to be jealous that Parker gets you all to himself today."

"I'll do something with just her and I before vacation is over. We should start going back, they're probably eating breakfast by now." Brennan nodded and took Booth's hand as he started toward the house. When they got inside Booth helped Angela serve the breakfast casserole and fruit salad. "Parker, do you want to go hiking with me this morning?"

"Sure. Sounds fun."

"Daddy, can I come, too?"

"Not this time, Christine. This time is just for me and Parker. I'll do something with just you in a few days."

"Okay." Christine started picking at her serving of casserole.

"Bren, I think Hodgins and I are going to take Michael Vincent and Katie to some of the museums and historic sites in town."

"That will be nice, Ange."

"It'll be fun for just the three of us to go to the beach, won't it?"

"I guess…."

B&B

A little bit later Angela and Brennan were cleaning up from breakfast. "Bren, Hank can come with us if you think having one-on-one time with you will improve Christine's mood."

"It would, but it would probably upset Hank at the same time. Christine is just upset because two of her favorite people are going to be gone today. It's not just that Booth is spending time with Parker that has her upset, it's the fact that he won't be here. Ever since Booth 'disappeared' when he was trying to help Jared Christine sometimes has a hard time with Booth leaving without her…"

"Aw, Jared really messed up everything didn't he?"

"Yes…"

B&B

Booth and Parker had been hiking the Bald Cyprus Trail for a half hour when Booth stopped, "Parker, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing…"

"Parks, I read people for a living. I know when something is bothering you…"

"All right…um…do you think I could move back to the States and live with you and Bones while I finish high school?"

"I'll have to talk it over with Bones and your mom, but of course."

"You don't think Bones will say no do you?"

"Parker, she'll probably fly to England the second I tell her and pack your stuff herself. I just have to talk it over with her out of respect. Have you talked to your mom about it?"

"Yeah, she's okay with it. She's busy with work and things between her and Garth are getting really serious. I think she'd be relieved to not to have to worry with me this year-"

"Parker, you are not a burden to me, your mom or Bones."

"I know. Mom has always struggled with the whole mom/work balance thing, you know that…"

"Yeah… Bones and I struggle with it too…"

"But not like mom… I spent more time with a babysitter or nanny than I did with her when I was little. Most days I see Garth more than I do her. Plus I don't really fit in, the American school I go to is full of Diplomat's kids and stuff that I don't have anything in common with. There are a few that know about you and Bones, but we're not friends really. I think it will be easier for me to go to college if I live in the States. I talked to my councilor and my transcripts should transfer easily so I can go into 12th grade like everybody else."

"Parker, have been unhappy in England the whole nine years you've lived there?"

"No, when we first moved, it was cool and I liked it, but now that I'm older I don't like it as much…"

"I get it… let's finish hiking and grab some lunch…"

"Okay."

B&B

Later that day Booth and Brennan were in the kitchen making dinner, "Parker seems happier since you both went hiking."

"Yeah, he wants to move back to the States and live with us for his last year of high school…"

"That's great, Booth!"

"You're okay with him moving in with us?"

"Of course, Booth. I never like the fact that Rebecca insisted on moving him to England to begin with… what does Rebecca have to say about this?"

"Parker says she's okay with it, that she's really busy with work and things with Garth are heating up… he thinks she'll be relieved to not have to worry with him this year…. I'll call her and discuss it when we get home, I don't want to ruin our perfect vacation."

"Booth, Parker is not a burden to anyone!"

"I know, I told him that. Maybe later you can pull him aside and quietly remind him?"

"Of course, Booth."

"I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth." Brennan watched Parker play Candy Land with Hank and Christine for a few minutes before going back to slicing cucumbers.


	17. Chapter 17 Resting on Mom

The gang was in the pool after spending the morning at the beach, Brennan was sitting in a lounge chair watching everyone when she noticed Christine was getting cranky. She stood up and went to the side of the pool.

"Christine, come here…"Christine made a face but got out of the pool and walked over to Brennan.

"Let's go inside for a while."

"I wanna swim!"

"I know. You can in a little while, let's just go inside and get something to drink and cool off for a little bit. You can swim later." Brennan held out her hand, Christine took it and let Brennan lead her inside. Once they were in the kitchen Brennan went to the fridge and got one of the bottles of flavored water that she got as a treat for Christine and poured it into a glass and added a curly straw. Christine took the glass from Brennan and took a drink. "It tastes like raspberries."

Brennan smiled, "do you like it?"

"Yeah."

I got lemon, strawberry, peach mango, and black cherry too."

"Yummy!' Brennan chuckled and sat down at the counter and pulled Christine onto her lap.

"When you finish your water why don't you go put on shorts and a t-shirt and lay down for a little while before you go back out to the pool?" Christine nodded a little, Brennan kissed the top of her head.

Fifteen minutes later Brennan was tucking Christine into her bunk. "Mommy, stay here…"

"Christine, I can't stay with you on the bed, it's too small. I'll sit in the chair over there. Brennan pointed to the blue easy chair in the corner of the room.

"Okay."

Brennan was planning her escape when Christine climbed onto her lap. Brennan smiled and moved her into a better position. "You're almost too big for this…" Christine shrugged and snuggled into Brennan and soon was asleep. A little while later Booth poked his head in the room. "Everything okay, Bones?"

"Yes, Christine is just over tired, once she takes a nap and rests for a while I think she'll be fine."

Booth nodded, "do you want me to put her in bed?"

"No, I'll hold her. Can you get her blanket? It's a little cool in here."

"Sure." Booth picked up the pink polka dotted throw blanket from the end of the bed and gently draped it over Christine and kissed the side of her head. When Christine woke up from her nap a while later everyone was inside and done with the poll for the day, but Booth took her and Michael Vincent back out for a little while.

B&B

A few hours later Booth was helping Brennan for snacks for movie night. "Christine seems to be in a better mood tonight."

"Yeah, a nap on mom will fix almost anything…."

"Plus you took her swimming when she woke up."

"Well, we'd only been in the house for ten minutes…"


	18. Chapter 18 Playing on Mount Trashmore

"Bones, I think I'll take Christine to Mount Trashmore Park and let her climb the trash mountain for our one-on-one day."

"Booth, it's not a trash mountain. They used layers of compacted solid waste and clean soil to build a 60 foot high, 800 feet wide mountain and planted grass on it. It's a water wise garden that uses xeriscaping."

"Christine won't care about the landscaping she'll only care about the 26,000 square foot playground. It also has paved pathways that we can take a long walk or she can have a piggy-back ride." Brennan smiled.

"I'll do something one-on-one with Hank in a few days."

"He'd probably enjoy you helping him build things out of sand that he can destroy."

Booth laughed, "We'll do that. I was thinking about getting a kite and teaching him how to fly it and a bottle of bubbles since he loves them."

"That would be a perfect day for him…"

After breakfast Booth stopped Christine before she got changed to go to the beach. "How about you and I go to the park for the morning?"

"Can I go swimming when we get back?"

"Yes."

"Okay…"

"Go change, I'll get snacks."

B&B

Forty five minutes later Christine was holding Booth's hand as they walked through Mount Trashmore State Park. "This park is huge, daddy!"

"Yeah, wait until you see the playground, it's a lot bigger than the one at home."

"Does it have swings?"

"Of course it has swings, slides, and climbing walls too." Booth stopped at the entrance of the Kids Cove section of the park.

"I get to play here?"

"Yeah…"

"All day?"

"Sure, if you don't want to go swimming later… Go where ever you want, I'll be behind you."

"Okay." Christine headed for the swings.

After playing on every piece of playground equipment and doing the climbing walls a few times Booth could see that Christine was getting tired. "Christine, let's go take a walk and have a snack then go back to the house and swim."

"Okay."

"Do you want to walk or take a piggyback ride?"

"Piggyback ride."

"Okay. Put the cooler on your back." Booth handed Christine her backpack style lunchbox she used for school and watched as she put it on. A few minutes later they were walking on the pathway.

"Daddy?"

"Hum?"

"Can we get a puppy?"

Booth chuckled a little, "Christine, puppies and dogs take a lot of time and are a lot of work. I don't know if we're home enough to give a puppy the time and attention it needs. We could get you some fish."

"You can't play with fish though!"

Booth laughed, "You're right, you can't. We'll talk about it with mommy when we get home, okay?"

"Okay."

They walked for a little bit longer, "Are you ready to have our snacks so we can go swim?"

"Yep!" Booth found a shady spot and they sat down, Christine unzipped the cooler and pulled out containers. "Apples and peanut butter, string cheese. The weird squishy cheese you and mommy like and crackers with grapes. Plus lemon water and a strawberry one."

"Give me the squishy cheese, crackers, grapes and lemon water. The rest is for you."

B&B

They got back to the house just as Brennan was heading out to the pool with everyone else.

"Christine, did you have fun with daddy?"

"Yeah, the playground is huge! I got to the top of the big climbing wall all by myself."

"That's great, Christine! I'm proud of you."

"Mommy, can we get a puppy?"

"Christine, I meant we'd talk to mommy about getting a puppy when we got home from vacation. Not back here…"

"Oh."

Brennan laughed and kissed the top of Christine's head. "We'll talk about it when we get home. Go get changed so you can go swimming."

"Okay." Christine skipped off to the bedroom.

B&B

"A puppy is a lot of work, but I think it'd be good for all of us if we can figure out the logistics of caring for one with our work schedules."

"Yeah, if Rebecca lets Parker move back he can help them with stuff when we can't."

"Yes, we still need to talk about it when we get home though."

"Yeah, I'm gonna go change…"

* * *

**A/N: I'm posting TWO adventures tonight… hit the next button to see what happens next. The word I used in this one was play…**


	19. Chapter 19 Popsicles

Brennan got ready for the day then she checked on the kids on her way up to the kitchen and wasn't too surprised to find all of them, but Hank still asleep. She motioned for Hank to come to her, he quickly got up and went to her. Brennan carried him to the kitchen and was a little surprised to find it empty. Booth, Hodgins, Angela and Katie were outside on the deck. Brennan sat Hank on a stool at the counter. "Do you want to help me make popsicles for everyone to have after we get back from the beach?"

"You can make popsicles?"

"Yes. We'll put some of the strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries I got at the farmers market in the blender to make juice then pour it into the Popsicle molds I bought at the store. We'll put the molds in the freezer to freeze while we're having breakfast and are at the beach."

"I want an orange one…"

Brennan smiled, "okay. I got eighteen popsicle molds so we'll make three strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry, mixed berry, orange, and lemon." Hank nodded, not really understanding what Brennan was talking about, but happy to have her to himself again for a little while. Brennan got the blender and Popsicle molds she'd washed the night before and put them in front of Hank. Then she got out cartons of berries and the cartons of orange juice and lemonade. "Hank, go wash your hands."

"K." Hank hopped off the stool and went to the sink. When he got done Brennan helped him back onto the stool. "Put all the blueberries in the blender." Hank carefully poured the berries in the blender. Brennan made sure the lid was on really tight and then she let Hank press the 'liquefy' button. Once the berries were a purple liquid she helped Hank pour the juice into three of the molds. The leftover blueberry juice went into a glass to be used for the three mixed berry popsicles. Brennan rinsed the blender and repeated the process for the strawberries and raspberries. They had just put the last stick in the mold when Booth came inside. "Daddy, I make popsicles with mommy!"

"Cool, I can't wait to have one. What kind did you make?"

"Blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, orange…"

"We also made three mixed berry. I made some strawberry and blueberry ones in an ice tray for Katie. "

"Good thinking, Bones. I can't wait to have a strawberry one. I'm gonna get the other three up and make eggs in a basket for everyone…"

"Sounds good, Booth."

* * *

**A/N: It is likely I will not have this challenge completed by the 'due' date, but I am going to finish it… it just might be November when I'm done lol**


	20. Chapter 20 Sightseeing Adventures

While everyone was enjoying their eggs in a basket with bacon and sausage Brennan looked around the table. "We're not going to the beach today, instead we're going to go sightseeing. We're going to see Capt. Jack's Pirate Ship Adventure. It's a pirate ship that allows you to hunt for stolen treasure and other activities. If it's not too late when we get done with the pirate ship, we'll go explore Cape Henry lighthouse. We'll go swimming when we get back here. "Brennan smiled in Christine's direction.

"That sounds fun, mommy."

"I think it will be. What do you think, Michael Vincent?"

"It's okay…" Michael Vincent quickly ate the last of his breakfast and got up from the table.

Once everyone was done eating Angela went to the kid's room and found Michael Vincent on his bed.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to go on the pirate ship…"

"Why not?"

"'Cause dad can't go with us…."

"You're right, he can't come with us and that sucks, but that happens sometimes…I know dad wishes he could come on the pirate ship with us, but I also know he wouldn't want you to not go because he can't. Come on, let's go talk to dad. " Michael Vincent got up and followed Angela upstairs to her and Hodgins' bedroom. Hodgins was looking through their luggage when Angela and Michael Vincent entered. "Angie, have you seen my blue shirt?"

"It's in the dryer… Michael doesn't want to go to the pirate ship today. I'll get your shirt…" Angela kissed Michael Vincent's head and left the room

"Why don't you want to go to the pirate ship? When I was your age I'd jumped at the chance to do something like that, it sounds so cool."

"I don't wanna go because you can't come with us… it's not fair!"

"Aw buddy, you're right it's not fair that I can't go in the ship with you guys. When we told you about the trip we told you there would be some things I couldn't do, that you'd have to do them with mom or Booth and Brennan…"

"I know, but…"

"You were hoping that I'd be able to do it anyway?"

"Yeah…"

"Me too, but I don't think mom, Booth, Brennan or Parker would be able to help me on and off the ship. Plus Katie is a little too young to enjoy the pirate ship and lighthouse…."

"But mom or Aunt Brennan could stay here with her…"

"They could, but why should one of them stay and miss out when I can stay?"

"But you're missing out too."

"I am, but that doesn't really matter. I never thought we'd be able to go on a vacation like this again. Thanks to your Uncle Booth and Aunt Brennan we're have a great time. I want you to go and tell me all about it when you get back. The sailing club has a family sail day the weekend after we get back. We can do that together and go to the diner after while mom and Katie stay home."

"Okay."

B&B

"Ange, we can choose other activities that Hodgins can participate in if it would be better. I know we talked about it being fine to do things that he couldn't, but if it's going to upset Michael Vincent…"

"Brennan, Michael will be fine. sometimes it's hard to be ten years old and not be able to do everything you want with your dad. I know Hodgins is planning something for just the two of them to make it up to him. It sucks, but sometimes it's what we have to do. We told Michael that there might be things we do that Hodgins might not be able to. This is one of those things. Hodgins can use a break anyway."

Fifteen minutes later everyone was loaded into Booth's SUV and headed to the pirate ship adventure. After finding the stolen treasure, playing the other games, and watching the pirate show, they stopped at a nearby restaurant to get lunch to go so they could have a picnic at Cape Henry historic lighthouse. Once they arrived at Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story that surrounded the lighthouse and made it through the security everyone boarded the shuttle and were taken out to the lighthouse. Once there they took the tour, Brennan waited with Hank who missed the minimum height requirement by two inches while everyone else climbed the tower to the top of the lighthouse.

"Hank, did you enjoy the pirate ship?"

"Yep. It was funny when daddy found the treasure first. The water fight was fun too."

Brennan smiled and adjusted Hank's sunhat. "Daddy is good at finding lost things…"

Hank nodded a little, "Can we go swimming soon?"

"Yes, as soon as everyone gets done climbing the tower we'll have lunch and go back to the beach house and go swimming."

"Yea!"

B&B

An hour and a half later Angela found Hodgins on the deck on a lounge chair reading to Katie. "Hi you two. Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah, we watched a couple Sesame Street videos, played with her toys, had microwave mac and cheese for lunch, took a nap and read some books. "

"Sounds like you two had a fun morning and early afternoon."

"We did. How was sightseeing?"

"Good. I'll let Michael Vincent tell you all about it. He had a good time, though."

"Good."

"We're going to go swimming now. Let me take Katie." Hodgins nodded and kissed the top of Katie's head before handing her to Angela then getting in his wheelchair.

A half hour later Michael Vincent was floating around the pool on the two person float with Hodgins telling him all about the day's sightseeing adventures.


	21. Chapter 21 Boating with Dolphins

There were only a few days left of the group's beach vacation, no one wanted to go back to reality. They were cramming in all kinds of activities in around beach and pool time. They had spent the morning at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center learning about the animals. Now they were back at the beach house swimming. Booth came up behind Brennan in the pool and wrapped his arms around her, Brennan leaned into him, and "Bones, you and I are going out tonight."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise…"

"I dislike surprises, Booth…"

"I don't like them either, but you gave me the best one when you got Parker here. I think you'll enjoy your surprise. As far as I know you've never done it. Wear something comfortable and non-slip shoes and take a sweater or jacket, it might be cool. We're leaving at 3. We're going out to dinner too..."

"I'm going to get out and start getting ready …"

"Okay. Love you…"

"Love you too, Booth." Brennan kissed Booth's cheek and got out of the pool.

B&B

Booth drove them out to the Rudee unlet area of Virginia Beach, he pulled up to Rudee inlet tours and parked.

"Booth…"

"We're taking a dolphin watching cruise. I wanted to take the sunset cruise, but the chances of seeing dolphins on that cruise aren't that great…"

Brennan bit her lip.

"What, Bones?"

"I really don't like to go boating…"

Booth chuckled and shook his head, "you're amazing, Bones. Do you get seasick or something?"

"No, I just don't like to be on the water…"

"Okay, we can go do something else…"

"No, Booth, I want to go on the dolphin cruise. I just wanted to tell you in case I don't relax…"

"Okay, if you're sure, let's go."

"I am." Brennan smiled and waited for Booth to get out of the SUV and come around to open her door. He smiled as he opened the door and Brennan got out. "Thank you for letting me get your door."

"You're welcome. Tonight seems like the night to let you get my door."

Booth chuckled softly, "you really are amazing, Bones. I love you."

"Love you too, Booth."

They boarded the boat "Do you want anything to eat or drink before we start?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay." They found a spot to stand and watch for dolphins, Booth stood behind Brennan with his arm around her waist. They hadn't been on the water long when they saw their first dolphin. Booth found himself not watching for dolphins, but watching Brennan watch for dolphins. Booth couldn't help smile at Brennan's wonderment, it was the happiest and most relaxed he'd seen her in a while. He took lots of pictures and sent them to Angela to include in their vacation photos.

An hour and a half later they were docked and everyone was getting off the boat. "You ready to go, Bones?"

"It's over?"

Booth laughed and started guiding Brennan towards the exit. "Yeah, you stood in one spot and looked for dolphins for an hour and a half. I take it you enjoyed the tour…"

"Yes, very much."

"Good, I'm glad. Let's go get some dinner."

"Okay."

B&B

Booth drove the short distance to Rockafeller's Restaurant they were seated quickly. "I know they don't have any vegan options …."

"It's fine, Booth. They have salad so, I'm fine."

"Okay. We're splitting key lime pie tonight."

"Okay."

Booth ordered crab stuffed shrimp with green beans and their homemade macaroni and cheese and Brennan got the Rockafeller's signature salad.

"This has been a wonderful vacation. I don't really want to go back to work…"

Booth looked at Brennan and smiled, "nobody does, Bones. The kids are really going to miss the pool."

"Yes, I will too. Next summer we'll have our own though."

"Yeah, can't wait for it either. We're not telling the kids until the break ground next spring. If we tell them now they'll nag us worse than do before Christmas."

"Yes. Are you looking forward to calling Rebecca about Parker?"

"No, but I'll do it as soon as we get home Sunday. If I have to fight Rebecca to let him live with us I'm going to do it."

"You have my support, Booth. She shouldn't have taken him there nine years ago."

"I know. I didn't want her to, but I couldn't really fight her. I was in a messy relationship with Hannah and my head wasn't right. I was trying to forget our past. I wasn't in shape to take Parker 24/7."

"I know. I wasn't in the best place myself then."

"Thank God it all worked out eventually…"

"Yes, I'm thankful we're together permanently…"

"Me too, Bones, you have no idea." Booth kissed her just before the waitress bought their piece of key lime pie and two forks.

B&B

When they got back to the beach house they found Hodgins and Angela watching T.V. upstairs off the kitchen. "Hey Ange."

"Hey sweetie. Did you enjoy your date night?"

"Yes, very much. How were Christine and Hank?"

"That's good. Christine and Hank were perfectly behaved. We had homemade pizza and watched a movie. Hank insisted that Parker read their bedtime story tonight. Parker is in the game room watching a movie."

Brennan nodded. "I'm going to go check on everybody." Angela nodded and turned her attention back to the T.V.

* * *

**A/N: Angela and Hodgins go on their date night next then we go home. I have adventures planned for everyone so stay tuned. PS the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center is located on General Booth Blvd.**


	22. Chapter 22 Booth You Forgot Sunscreen

It was everyone's second to last day of their beach vacation, they had just finished up breakfast when Booth stopped Hank. "Tiger, think of something you'd like to do with me today?"

"Can we build sandcastles?"

"Yeah. Is that all you want to do?"

"Yeah…"

"You don't want to go see the dinosaurs again?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, go get your shoes on." Hank headed to the kids bedroom and put his shoes on. A few minutes later Booth was driving to the Jurassic park at the entrance to the Virginia Beach airport. After helping Hank complete the treasure hunt and get a prize, they headed to the store to get some bubbles to play with on the beach. Once they got to the beach Booth unloaded their stuff and they headed to an area of the beach that wasn't too busy and away from the rest of the group. Booth started helping Hank build the sandcastle. Once they had built a huge sandcastle and Booth took pictures Hank happily destroyed it. Booth laughed and started building another sandcastle. After a while Booth and Hank looked for shells then Booth got the bubbles out. After a while the wandered over to the rest of the group.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah."

"What was your favorite part?"

"Sandcastles! And dinosaurs!"

"So, basically the whole day?"

"Uh-huh."

When they got close to Brennan Hank ran to her and climbed up in her lap. "Hi sweetheart, did you have fun with Daddy?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's good. What did you do?"

"We saw the dinosaurs again, daddy helped me do the treasure hunt. I got a dinosaur. And we made sandcastles, I got to smash them! And we played with bubbles!"

"Wow, the day sounds perfect for you." Hank just snuggled into Brennan's lap.

B&B

Later that night Booth winced as he took off his shirt, Brennan looked over at his back. "Oh Booth, you forgot your sunscreen…"

"Yeah… I put some on Hank and forgot to do my own…"

"Lay on the bed, I'll be back with the aloe…"

"Thanks, Bones." Brennan kissed Booth's cheek as she walked past him into the bathroom. A few minutes later Brennan was gently applying aloe to Booth's badly sunburned back.

"Besides the burn today was really fun. I think we should get a sandbox. A big one, not one of those green plastic turtle things."

"Hank would enjoy that a lot…"

"He just likes to smash sandcastles…"Booth chuckled at the look of joy on Hank's face as their sandcastle started to fall.

"He likes to build them too though..."


	23. Chapter 23 Artsy Date Night

It was the last full day of the group's vacation, everyone was up earlier than they'd normally been to make the most of the last day. After spending a longer than normal time at the beach they were back at the rental house getting ready to go in the pool. "Angie, change in to something comfortable and a little dressy if you have it. We're not going swimming today in less you really want to."

"It doesn't matter to me. Where are we going if we aren't going to the pool?"

"I thought you'd like to explore the creative district and go to The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. We can take the walking tour of murals around the creative district, everything is wheelchair friendly I asked. Theirs's all kinds of restaurants, brewery's and tasting rooms we can go to. Booth and Brennan are taking the kids for mini golf and pizza…"

"They'll be happy doing that. I'll be happy going through the creative district, but won't you be bored?"

Hodgins smiled, "probably, but I'll be spending the whole evening with you sans kids and no chance of having to cut the evening short and having to go to work so, it's worth it." Hodgins grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. Once they were changed and ready to go Angela stepped out to the pool to say goodbye to Michael Vincent. She waited as he swam to the edge. "Have fun tonight and be good for Uncle Booth and Aunt Brennan."

"I will."

"Good. I love you."

"Love you too, mom."

Before Angela could go back inside, Hank ran to her and wrapped his wet arms around her knees. "Hank stop. You're getting Aunt Angela wet!"

Angela laughed and scooped Hank up. "It's fine Bren, my sundress will be dry by the time we get there."

"Hey baby Booth, have fun tonight. You can tell me all about it in the morning all right?"

"K." Angela kissed Hank's forehead and put him on the ground.

B&B

Their first stop was The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Hodgins didn't understand the complexity and beauty of a lot of what he saw, but he enjoyed watching Angela in her element. He vowed to either go with her on date nights to the art museums in D.C. or give her time by herself to go. After the Art museum they headed out on the walking tour of murals, Angela wheeling Hodgins most of the way. Once they'd completed the walking tour they found a slightly fancy artsy place for dinner that prided itself on growing most of the food served in the restaurant.

"This place looks nice, at least they don't have crayons on the table and paper placemats."

"Yeah, I can't really remember the last time we had dinner, just the two of us."

"The week before I had Katie, I was huge and insisted we go out for Thai…"

"That's right you ordered that pork thing you like with triple noodles, but you stole my coconut chicken to have with them."

"My pork smelled nasty your chicken smelled good…"

"Speaking of which I think I'm going to get the grilled pork chop…." Angela made a face, Hodgins chuckled.

"I'm playing it safe and getting the house made pasta." Once they ordered and got their food they ate for a few minutes in silence.

"I enjoyed today…."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I didn't understand a lot of what I saw, at least not like you do, but I did enjoy it."

"I enjoyed today too, a lot. I enjoyed the murals more than I did the museum…"

"Those were cool. You should start painting again. We can convert the sun room into a studio."

"Hodgins…"

"Angie, it's the one room in the house I can't get into easily. It'd cost a lot to make it so I could, we'd have to move that one wall so I could make the turn, widen the doorway get rid of the stairs or put in a ramp of some sort. If we make it into your studio we'd just have to move the furniture out, get some tile or hardwood floors, get some better lighting, and put up shelving…"

Angela smiled, "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay."

After dinner they stopped at a coffee shop for coffee and dessert. "We shouldn't be drinking coffee this late, we need to be up early tomorrow." Hodgins took a bite of their shared carrot cake.

"We don't have to get up that early, check out is at 11, and I'll have Booth help me pack the car tonight."

"I've really enjoyed this vacation."

"Me too. I was a little nervous when Brennan invited us along. This was our first big trip since…"

"Yeah, it went well I think. I couldn't have done the beach and pool without Booth and Doctor B."

"It went great, especially with the help we had. We need to do more vacations, not as big as this, but maybe we can go visit dad this year for Christmas. He'd send their private jet to get us…"

Hodgins chuckled softly, "Maybe, Angie."

When they got back to the rental house the checked on Michael Vincent before heading up to their floor. They found Booth and Brennan watching T.V.. "Hey Bren."

"Hey Ange."

"How were the kids?"

"They were good. Michael Vincent beat Christine at mini golf, she didn't take it well. We came home early so they couldn't fight about it too much. When we got home I made popcorn and we watched a movie. We told them if they got up and got breakfast done in a timely manner they could go swimming before we leave. I think Christine made Parker set the alarm on his phone for six."

Angela laughed, "Sounds like everyone had a good night for the most part."

"I think so. Katie won't go to sleep without Booth holding her. When he tried to lay her down she woke up again…"

Angela smiled, "She's spoiled to falling asleep on Hodgins. I'm actually surprised she fell asleep on Booth…" She walked over and took Katie from Booth and gave her to Hodgins, the baby was asleep in moments.

* * *

A/N: We're at the end of the gang's Virginia Beach vacation. :( We'll see the Hodgins family a few times once everyone gets home. All of the places and things the group did actually exist in Virginia Beach. Including the food Booth and Brennan and Hodgins and Angela had on their respective date nights.


	24. Chapter 24 Quiet Journey Home

By 7am everyone was in the pool, Booth came up behind Brennan in the pool and wrapped his arms around her. Brennan leaned into him, "we're going to have a hard time getting everyone out of the pool, especially Christine."

"Yeah, I don't want to go home either."

"I don't either to be honest…"

"…Then let's not…"

"Booth, we have to go to work. Almost the entire lab has been on vacation for two weeks. Cam and the interns are capable, but they're not us. Plus I'm sure Aubrey needs you for something…."

"…Yeah my office is probably full of empty takeout containers." Brennan chuckled and kissed Booth's cheek.

At ten Brennan called and end to pool time so they could get changed and head out. "Mommy, can we go to the beach before we go home?"

"Yeah mom can we?"

Booth and Brennan looked at each other then at Hodgins and Angela who slightly nodded.

"If we spend the afternoon at the beach we'll get home late tonight and you'll have to take your bath and go to bed as soon as we get home…"

"Can I still have a bedtime story?"

"Yes, Hank daddy or I will read to you after your bath like always."

"Okay."

"That's fine."

"All right. Let's load up the cars and go check out then go to the beach."

"Yea!"

B&B

Seven hours later than they'd originally planned the group began the journey home. The car was extremely quiet for having four kids in it.

"I thought the children would be too hyped up to be still and quiet on our return home."

"They're sad about leaving vacation Bones, Christine was almost in tears when I helped her in her seat before we left." Booth sighed at the traffic in front of them. "We could have made the trip home twice by now…"

"Yes, but it was worth it to let the kids have an extra half day of fun."

"Yeah and we all have tomorrow off thanks to Cam and Starke."

"I'm thankful that we do, let's just leave the car packed tonight."

"Sounds good to me, Bones. I'm glad Angela insisted that Michael Vincent ride with then after we stopped for dinner."

"I am too. Hopefully we can get Christine and Hank inside and in their beds without waking them. They can take their baths in the morning and Hank can have two stories tomorrow night."

B&B

Twenty minutes later Booth carefully lifted Christine from her seat. "Daddy?"

"We're home…"

"No…"

"Shh. Go back to sleep and have dreams of the beach while I put you in bed…"


	25. Chapter 25 Tall, Tall Grass of Home

**A/N: To the guest reviewer on chapter 24, no, I will not be writing Booth and Rebecca's conversation. You'll see how their conversation is resolved coming up in a few chapters…**

* * *

Booth made his way into the kitchen the next morning to find Brennan sitting at the counter drinking coffee. "Good morning, Booth."

"Good morning, Bones. As much as I enjoyed sleeping in our bed last night I wish we were having our coffee on the dock this morning."

"Me too. We could go out to the back porch or walk around the neighborhood."

"Yeah, but not today I have too much too do. I have to unpack the SUV then I have to go mow the grass. The kid down the street that stuffs flyers in our mailbox every spring looking for lawns to mow didn't do ours even though we hired him to do it twice. I didn't notice it last night in the dark, but if the grass gets much taller I'm go to have to bale it. First I'm going to go have a chat with Dylan."

"First you're going to eat breakfast…"

"With what? We have no food here. All we have from vacation is condiments and dry cocoa puff. I like cocoa puffs, but I need milk on them…"

"The half package of bagels we didn't finish before we left is defrosting on the counter and we have coffee. I'll take the children to the diner when they wake up for breakfast, then we'll stop at the grocery store on the way home. Parker can help me unload the SUV when we get back."

Booth started to comment on the unfairness of that statement when he realized he could have breakfast in peace if the kids were still sleeping, smiling he happily toasted a bagel.

B&B

Booth took his sunglasses off as he rang the doorbell, it was answered quickly.

"Hello Seeley. Are you here to pay Dylan?"

"Hi Sarah. Actually no, I'm here to see why he didn't mow our lawn…"

"Humm… DYLAN! GET IN HERE!" the sound of squeaking sneakers was quickly heard.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Why didn't you mow Seeley's lawn? And more importantly where were you when you told me you were going to go do it? "

"I went over to mow it, but the front and back yards are huge, it'd take all day to mow both… and I was supposed to go to Brian's house after so I just went there…. Yesterday I just went to Brian's house…." Dylan shrugged.

"Dylan, that doesn't matter, you told Seeley that you'd mow the grass while he was away…"

"I know, but-"

"No. you should have done it no matter how long it took you."

"I know." Dylan looked at Booth, "Mr. Booth I'm sorry I didn't mow your grass…"

"I accept your appolgy, Dylan. I'm going to mow my grass today since it's so tall, but next Saturday and the three Saturdays after you will be at my house at 9am to mow my front yard for free while I mow the back…"

Dylan looked at his mom, she smiled at Booth. "Honey, that's more than fair if I were in his position I'd make you mow the front and back for free…. You're also grounded for two weeks, no electronics or going to Brian's. I'm also going to call the people you're supposed to mow for and make sure you're actually doing it…"

Booth hid a chuckle at Dylan's shocked look. "Goodbye, Sarah."

"Goodbye, Seeley. I'm sorry my son slacked off…"

"it's taken care of…" Booth turned and started walking back home.

B&B

A few hours later Booth was done mowing the grass and he walked back into the kitchen for a drink. Brennan looked up from putting the groceries away. "How'd your chat with Dylan go?"

"Good. He didn't mow our grass because our yards are too big and it'd take him all day to do them, drastically cutting in to his friend time. He'll be coming over here on Saturday at 9am for the next month to mow the front yard while I do the back."

Brennan nodded, "your chocolate frosted sprinkle donut is in the box on the counter…"

"You got me a donut?"

"Yes, Christine picked it out. The store was extremely crowded this morning. Christine and Hank were two of the few behaved children in the store. I got them donuts as a reward. We got one for Parker too since he was still sleeping when we went to the diner."

Booth smiled as he leaned across the counter and kissed Brennan. "Thanks for my donut, Bones. I love you."

"You're welcome, Booth. I love you, too."


	26. Chapter 26 The Fourth of July

Brennan sat across from Booth at their usual table at the diner. "Hey Bones, how's your day going so far?"

"Hello Booth. I'm not a fan of returning to work after leaving the lab for two weeks…"

"Rough morning?" Booth took a sip of his coffee.

"Yes, a lot of things got piled up on my desk, nothing too urgent thankfully. I really don't understand why we get to work for one day and get three days off. It just seems counterintuitive." Brennan took a bite of her salad.

"Bones, it's the Fourth of July!"

"I know. We should have taken the week off and spent it at the beach."

"That would have been nice to see the fireworks on the beach…."

"Yes. Speaking of which Angela asked if Michael Vincent can come to the Fireworks with us, Katie is too young this year and it's too crowded for Hodgins' wheelchair for him to take him alone. Angela doesn't want to go if she can avoid it."

"Of course he can come with us. He can spend the night since we're off."

"Christine will be happy."

B&B

They had skipped the Fourth of July parade this year due to the heat, but thankfully it had cooled down considerably by the time they were getting ready to leave for the fireworks. Christine came into the kitchen. "Mommy, I can't find my sandals!"

"Which pair?"

"The pink ones with the hearts on the straps! They're my favorite!"

"Where did you have them last?"

"At the beach house. I was gonna wear them home, but we went to the beach so I wore my fippy flops…"

Brennan smiled, "Christine, wear your white sandals. We'll look for them when we get home."

"But-"

"Christine, we don't have time to look now, we need to leave very soon to pick up Michael Vincent before we go to the fireworks."

"Michael Vincent is coming with us?"

"Yes. He's also spending the night, he'll go home tomorrow after dinner."

"Yea!" Christine went to her room, returning a minute later with her white sandals on her feet. "I'm ready to go, mommy!" Brennan smiled and kissed the top of Christine's head as she finished packing their snacks.

B&B

Forty five minutes later Booth was spreading a few blankets on the ground. "We'll be able to see well from here." The four kids settled on one blanket with their bowls of popcorn and water for the three oldest kids. Hank had cheese flavored snack crackers. Booth sat next to them on the other blanket, Brennan leaned against him. A few minutes into the show Hank climbed over Parker and plopped down on Brennan's lap. "Are you having fun, sweetheart?"

"Yep!"

Brennan kissed the top of Hank's head and wrapped her arms around him and smiled as Booth put his arms around them both, she settled back and watched the fireworks.


	27. Chapter 27 Lost and Found Sandals

A/N: I meant to post this with the previous chapter, but…

Five days later Brennan took a small box from her bag and headed for the couch where Christine was sitting. "Christine, you got a package in the mail today…"

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Why don't you open it and see?" Brennan cut through the packing tape and handed the box to Christine. The eight year old eagerly opened the box and gasped at what was inside. "MOMMY! You found my SANDALS!"

"I didn't find them, after we looked and didn't find them I call the place we rented the house from and asked if they'd found them. The lady said they had and that they put them in the lost and found in case we called or came back looking for them. She said she'd mail them to you…"

Christine wasn't really paying attention to what Brennan was saying, she was just happy to have her favorite sandals back. She put the box aside and gave Brennan a hug.

"Thank you, mommy."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

A few minutes later Christine ran to Booth as soon as he came in the door, "daddy, mommy got my sandals back!"

"That's great, monkey!" Booth kissed her forehead and watched as she went to her room. He walked into the kitchen and kissed Brennan. "You're officially the best mom ever!"

"Why?"

"Because you called the rental place and had them mail a pair of forgotten sandals to an eight year old…"

"I didn't ask them to, I just asked if they'd found them and the lady said they had then in the lost and found. She told me she'd mail them to me before I had a chance to ask her to. I just asked that she put Christine's name on the box since she loves to get mail…"Brennan shrugged and went back to working on dinner. Booth walked to the sink and washed his hands and began helping Brennan with dinner.

"You're still the best. When Parker was three I took him to see Pops and Grams and we stayed in hotel because they had a one bedroom apartment by then…Anyway Parker left his teddy bear behind, I didn't know about it for more than a week so I didn't bother calling the hotel to see if they still had it. I just went to the store and got him an identical bear, he was more upset that I'd tried to replace Barry Bear than he was that he'd lost him…. He knew as soon as I gave him the new bear that it wasn't Barry, Rebecca had patched up Berry with green thread a few weeks before creating a 'scar' under its arm. The new Barry Bear didn't have a green scar. That stupid bear sat on his toy box in my apartment for a good six months before Parker even looked at him. At least you got her original sandals and didn't try and replace them and hope she wouldn't notice…"

"I was going to get her a new pair, but the three stores I checked didn't have her size…"

Booth laughed and kissed Brennan again," you really are the best, Bones. I love you."

"I love you too, Booth."


	28. Chapter 28 Relaxing Vacation

Hodgins wheeled into the home office he shared with Angela she was at her computer looking through the hundreds of pictures she'd taken on vacation. "You got a lot of really good shots, Angie." Angela startled a little and reached for Hodgins' hand. "Yeah, everyone looks so relaxed, even Brennan."

"It was relaxing. I'm just sorry you didn't get to relax much."

"Hodgins, what are you talking about? I went to the beach and hung out by the pool every day. I read a book that didn't have pictures or one that I had memorized. I was completely relaxed. I had wine almost every night after the kids went to bed. It was a perfect two weeks. "

"You had to take care of me more than you have to here…"

"I did, but I was still relaxed."

"Still..."

"Hodgins, I didn't care that I had to help you more than usual. It was still a very relaxing vacation. We had help with the kids whenever we needed or wanted it."'

"It was but you had help me in the shower and then lift me in and out of the pool and the beach wheelchair."

"The only reason I had to help you in the shower was because the angle of the seat wasn't like we have it at home and it couldn't be adjusted. I only had to help you with the pool for two days then Parker took over."

"Yeah, nothing better than having one of your really good friend's 17 year old son literally pick your ass up and move in and out of your wheelchair."

"Hodgins, stop trying to turn this vacation into a pity party. It was the best two weeks we've had in a long time, even before your accident and I'm not going to let you ruin it. I know having to have us help you do things you used to do independently is hard and at times a little embarrassing for you, but no one minded helping you. Booth, Brennan and I talked before we left and I made sure they knew we were going to need their help sometimes. They were more than willing to help us with whatever we needed. Booth told me if we wanted to have coffee on the dock like he and Brennan did he and Parker were willing to get up early carry you and your chair across the sand and get you on the dock and reverse the process when we were done. I declined, I didn't think we'd find it as romantic as he and Brennan did."

"No, coffee on the dock was their thing." Hodgins looked at the photos again, "I never thought I'd see the day when Brennan looked relaxed holding a baby. She did well when she and Booth had that case when she let the baby swallow the key and they had to keep him until they got it back. Seeing her with our kids and her kids is different."

"Yeah, Katie has her auntie Brennan and Uncle Booth tightly wrapped around her little fingers."

Hodgins laughed. "Yeah, wonder if they'll have another?"

"Who knows? They both got baby fever on this trip though, theirs really only one cure…"

"Yeah, do you want another?"

"Only if we adopt. You were really relaxed on this trip, you didn't have spasms or need your muscle relaxants and pain meds…"

"I didn't even realize that I hadn't had spasms in two weeks, it's nice. Hopefully it's the beginning of a new trend or at least a nice long break from them."

"I hope so. It would be nice if you could drop those meds. "

"Yeah, or at least lower my dosages. Maybe I should take up wheelchair yoga or meditate to stay relaxed."

"Wouldn't be a bad idea, the studio where Bren and I go has an adaptive class on Saturday afternoons…" Hodgins chuckled softly and kissed Angela's cheek.

"I love you, Angie."

"I love you too, Hodgins."


	29. Chapter 29 Air Conditioned Houseguest

After spending the morning mowing the lawn Booth was looking forward to spending the rest of Saturday watching baseball or playing with the kids. Booth had just gotten settled when his phone rang, he groaned when he saw the name on the display "Hey Aubrey…"

Booth listened to the call and relaxed a little, they didn't have a case. "Let me check with Bones, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Hang on a minute." Booth pressed the phone to his chest.

"Bones?"

Brennan looked up from writing out a grocery list. "Yes, Booth?"

"The air conditioner went out in Aubrey's building, it's going to be a few days before anyone has air. He wants to know if he can stay with us for a few days until it's fixed…"

"Of course he can stay with us, Booth."

Booth grinned and put the phone back up to his ear. "Come on over Aubrey, Bones says it's fine…"

"Okay, see you in a little while." Booth pocketed his phone and got up walking to Brennan.

"I'll need to get larger quantities of some things at the store today…"

Booth laughed, "Yeah, he says he'll be here in about an hour. Get stuff for turkey burgers, I'll grill out since we have a guest tonight."

Brennan nodded, "I'll get some corn on the cob you can grill and potato salad. I'll get a pie from the diner too."

"Sounds good."

"I'm leaving 'Christine and Hank with you, it'll be a faster trip if I go alone."

"Sounds good. Love you."

"Love you too, Booth."

B&B

An hour and a half later Aubrey was sitting at the kitchen counter drinking iced tea as Booth minced onions and garlic to add to the ground turkey.

"I really appreciate you letting me stay with you guys, Booth. I had fans on and at first it wasn't too bad, but after a while it was just blowing around hot air."

"It's no problem Aubrey. Did they say how long it'll take to fix it?"

"The landlord is hoping for three days or less. Every AC unit is out so who knows how long it will take…"

"Yeah it's gonna take a while. You're staying here until everything is fixed."

"Thanks Booth."

Christine came into the kitchen. "Uncle Aubrey!"

"Hey, munchkin."

"Are you staying for dinner? Daddy makes the bestest turkey burgers!"

"Yep. I can't wait to try them then. Guess what?"

"What?"

"The air conditioner in my apartment is broken so I'm staying here for a few days until it's fixed."

"Yea! Will you have a tea party with me?"

"…Uh sure…"

Booth started to chuckle softly until Christine said, "You can have one with me later, daddy." Aubrey smirked and let Christine pull him to her bedroom

* * *

.

A/N: Aubrey is probably going to be around for a few chapters….


	30. Chapter 30 Flowers and Explanations

It was the end of the workday and Booth was driving himself and Brennan home.

"Booth, you missed the turn for summer camp to get the children."

"Aubrey is getting the kids for us. I thought we'd go to the cemetery…it's your mom's birthday…"

"Thank you, Booth." Was whispered so quietly that Booth barely heard it. He reached over and put his hand on Brennan's for the rest of the drive. They got to the cemetery and Booth parked as close as he could to Max and Christine's gravesite. Brennan slowly got out of the SUV and walked to Booth's side she smiled a little when Booth pulled a large bouquet of wild flowers from Hank's car seat. Booth caught her smiling. "I didn't want them to roll around and get smashed…" Brennan just reached for his hand, together they made the short walk to the gravesite. Brennan took the flowers and placed them in the center of the joint headstone. "The flowers are pretty, Booth."

"I thought so too." Booth started to move back to give Brennan a little privacy, but she pulled on his hand. Booth stopped and stood beside Brennan wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close.

"Happy Birthday, mom. I hope you like the flowers, Booth picked them out. We took Parker, Christine, and Hank and Hodgins and Angela and their children to Virginia Beach for two weeks it was a very relaxing. No one wanted to return to work, myself included. Parker is moving back from England to live with us and finish his last year of high school. We haven't told Christine and Hank, we're going to let it be a surprise." Brennan stood there with Booth for a few minutes then turned to leave. Once they were in the SUV Booth put his hand on top of Brennan's, "Aubrey is making spaghetti for the kids, we can go home and have dinner with them or we can go out. Your choice."

"As much as I like having dinner with the children, I'd like to go out tonight." Booth nodded and silently drove them to their favorite Thai place. Two and a half hours later Brennan smiled slightly as she walked inti the house and saw Hank snuggled in Aubrey's lap sound asleep. The agent looked up and smiled. "Hey Dr. B, he wanted to wait up for you guys to come home, as you can see he didn't quite make it." Brennan smiled and picked Hank up and headed for his bedroom. Aubrey stood up and stretched and walked over to the kitchen. "Booth is Dr. B okay? She seems sad…"

"Bones is fine. Today is her mom's birthday so we went to the cemetery and left flowers like we've done for the past 13 years. She always has guilt when we go because her mother's remains were in limbo at the lab for seven years before her assistant went down there and randomly pulled them for identification…."

"Are you serious? Dr. B's mother's remains were in the lab and she identified them…"

"Didn't you read her file? It's all in there…."

"Not the personal stuff, that'd be creepy because she's your wife…"

"Read it, Bones made me put it in there. Anyway we were on our way to court and Bones needed her original case notes and on her way out she saw her mom on Angela's monitor and told her and everyone that the reconstruction was wrong. She got the evidence bag and confirmed what I'm sure was her worst fear. I was waiting for her in the SUV when she took too long I went inside I was expecting to see her on the platform looking at some bones or something. When I got in the lab none of squints knew why Bones fled to her office after seeing the reconstruction, Angela showed it to me and I told them that the remains were those of Christine Brennan, Bones' mother. I got her excused from court and tried to get her to go home, we all did, but Bones was determined to solve her mother's murder…"

"Couldn't you have gotten someone else to…?"

"Honestly? No. Bones is the best of the best and we needed her… I've regretted needing her on that case every day for the last thirteen years…"

"I can't imagine. Couldn't her assistant Jack…?"

"Zack. No Zack wasn't trained enough to go solo on this one. This was too high profile… Bones did her compartmentation thing and got it done. I did eventually convince her to go home, everyone else worked all night. Bones came back after a few hours and helped determine the cause of death… that was hard to watch her do… Bones changed a little after that, she was more guarded after that, but sometimes she'd let a little of her guard down with me…"

"I can't imagine what any of that was like…."

"How were the kids?"

"They were great. We had spaghetti and watched _101 Dalmatians_ with chocolate chip cookies. It was a good night. Parker skipped the movie in favor of Xbox…"

Booth chuckled, "thanks for watching them."

"No problem." Booth nodded and grabbed a cookie from the bakery box on the counter before heading to his and Brennan's bedroom.

A few minutes later Brennan came into the kitchen. "Thank you for watching the children, Aubrey. Booth and I had something to do…"

"You're welcome, Dr. B. it was fun. We had spaghetti and watched _101 Dalmatians_ with chocolate chip cookies. It was a good night. Parker skipped the movie in favor of Xbox…"

Brennan smiled a little, "I see Christine got to choose the movie, it's one of her favorites."

"It's mine too…"

Brennan smiled and slid a napkin under Aubrey's half eaten cookie before gabbing one of her own and a few cookies before joining Booth in their room.


	31. Chapter 31 Why is Aubrey Gardening?

Booth pulled into the driveway and parked, "Bones, did you ask Aubrey to weed our flowerbed?"

"No, of course not Booth! He's our guest not our gardener…"

"Then why is he gardening?"

"I don't know. I'll take the children inside and start dinner while you find out…"

Booth sighed as he got out of the SUV and walked over to the flowerbed, "Hey Aubrey…"

The Agent looked over at Booth with a handful of weeds, "oh hey, Booth…."

"Not that I don't appreciate the help, but why are weeding the flower bed?"

"I got home before you so…. I was waiting on the porch and I saw the weeds so, I thought… when I was a kid our neighbor used to pay me a dollar to weed her flowerbed every Saturday, I enjoyed it…"

"Okay. Why didn't you just use the spare key in the magnetic lockbox by the backdoor?"

"I didn't want to go in your house without you being here…"

"You could have, hell, Bones' dad would come in without even using the key. Half the time we didn't even know he was coming for a visit. At least we would be expecting you to be in our living room on the couch watching T.V. or in the kitchen making a sandwich. "

"Next time…"

"Come inside, Bones is making veggie stir fry for dinner. I'm grilling chicken for Christine and Hank to have with theirs and I'm grilling shrimp to have with mine…"

"Grilled chicken and shrimp sound good…."

"I'll make extra of both and Bones is making extra veggies."

"Okay. Can I finish weeding? I'm almost done…"

Booth laughed, "Sure, but I'm not paying you a dollar. I'm giving you meals and a bed to sleep in for as long as you need it for free."

Aubrey grinned and went back to weeding.

B&B

Brennan looked up when Booth came inside, "did you find out why Aubrey is weeding the flowerbed?"

"Yeah, he didn't want to get the spare key and come in without us being here so he sat on the porch to wait. He saw the weeds and decided to pull them, apparently he enjoys weeding…" Booth shrugged.

"Perhaps we should give him his own key in case something happens and he needs to get inside to stay with Christine and Hank or something…"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. Someone needs a key to our house besides Angela and Hodgins."

"I agree."

Later that night Booth sat down next to Aubrey and handed him a key. "Bones and I both think it'd be a good idea for you to have your own key. In case you need to get inside to stay with Christine and Hank…"

"Are you sure, Booth? I mean…" Aubrey shrugged.

"Yeah, if something happened to me and/or Bones and Angela and Hodgins were not able to watch them theirs no one we'd trust more to keep them safe… Christine thinks of you as her uncle anyway. To Hank you're just the tall man with cheese crackers and gummi bears in his pockets who likes to share on occasion. "

"Thanks, Booth. I hope nothing ever happens to you or Dr. B. that I need to use the key for…"

"Us too, but if you need to you have the key. Thanks again for weeding it looks really good plus you saved my back."

"You're welcome, Booth."


	32. Chapter 32 Ice Cream: Shaken not Stirred

Aubrey had been staying with the Booth's for almost a week, he'd gotten the call earlier saying the air conditioning was working. He'd packed his suitcase and headed home only to appear at the Booth's front door forty five minutes later. "What did you forget, Aubrey?"

"Hello, to you too, Booth. I didn't forget anything. The AC works in my apartment, but it's still like a sauna in there. I was wondering if I could stay here for a little while until my place cools down…"

"Sure, we are trying to decide where to go to dinner at. Bones wants vegetarian/vegan. Christine wants pizza. Hank wants noodles. Parker doesn't care as long as he can have meat. I just want a quiet dinner where everyone eats their food and is happy."

"How about I stay here with the kids while you and Dr. B have dinner out. I'll get Christine a personal cheese and sausage pizza and I'll split a triple meat with Parker. The good pizza place has five cheese pasta that Hank can have."

That might work…" Booth noticed Aubrey holding grocery bags. "What did you bring?"

"It's an edible activity that I thought the kids would like to do later. I need to put it in the fridge and freezer." Booth shrugged and went back to the living room.

Brennan looked up and spotted Aubrey putting the bags in the fridge and freezer. "Aubrey, did you leave behind some of your possessions?"

Aubrey laughed, "No, Dr. B., my apartment is still really hot. I'm going to stay here for a few hours while the AC cools it down. I brought an edible activity that I thought the kids would like to do later."

"That's fine."

"Bones, Aubrey has a solution to our dinner problem. He offered to get pizzas and pasta for the kids while we go have a quiet dinner…"

"Thank you for the offer, Aubrey, but we can't accept. You've watched the children and fed them once this week…"

"Dr. B., I don't mind, if I were home I'd likely getting a triple meat pizza and pasta for myself and watching Netflix…"

"Bones, come on… would you rather have veggie delight pizza with the kids or dinner at a nice restaurant with me?"

"Okay, we can go out, but just dinner and right back home."

"That's fine, Bones. Guys, you're going to have pizza with Uncle Aubrey while mommy and I go out." Booth handed Aubrey some money.

"Yea!"

"I want noodles!"

"Don't worry little dude, you'll get your noodles!" Hank smiled a little and went back to playing with his truck.

Alter finishing dinner Aubrey had Christine and Hank wash their hands again and sit back at the table.

"What are we doing now, Uncle Aubrey?"

"We're going to make ice cream in a bag. I have all kinds of toppings to make sundaes when you get done making your ice cream."

"Yummy!" Aubrey smiled and handed out Ziploc sandwich bags. He next turned to Christine and helped her pour a cup of half and half in her sandwich bag followed by two tablespoons of sugar and a half teaspoon of vanilla. Once she pressed the air from the bag and sealed it Aubrey helped Hank fill his bag with the same mixture. Once Parker and Aubrey had filled their own bags Aubrey filled four bags with 3 cups of ice and 1/3 cup kosher salt. "Now everybody put your small bags of ice cream mixture in the bigger bags of ice and seal them up then start shaking them until the ice cream starts to harden."

They were still shaking their ice cream when Booth and Brennan returned home.

"Mommy, daddy, we're making ice cream for sundaes."

"I see, that sounds fun."

"We have more supplies if you two want to make some."

"I'm going to try it. Bones do you want to try it too?"

"No, I'll just help Hank shake his." Booth nodded and got the recipe off of Aubrey's phone.

"Mommy, I had noodles!"

"That's good, sweetheart. Did you like them?"

"Yep!"

"I'm glad." Brennan kissed the top of Hank's head. "Where did you learn how to do this Aubrey?"

"I did it at some summer day camp my mom sent me to as a kid. I thought of it the other day and thought it might be something your munchkins would like to do some time when I spent time with them. I googled it and found this recipe. I tried it at home last week to make sure it worked."

Brennan nodded and continued helping Hank shake his ice cream.

B&B

Twenty minutes later they were all sitting at the table eating their ice cream sundaes out of the small bags, Brennan stole a few bites of Booth's.

"What do you think guys?"

"It's yummy ice cream!"

"Yeah!"

"I have to agree with the kids, it is good."

B&B

Once everything was cleaned up Aubrey said goodbye to Christine, Hank, and Parker.

"Booth, Dr. B, thanks again for letting me stay here this week."

"You're welcome, Aubrey. Thanks for babysitting tonight, Bones and I enjoyed our dinner."

"You're welcome. I enjoyed tonight too."

"You're still coming for dinner on Sunday, right?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss taco bar night for the world."

"Good. I'll make extra guacamole this time…"

* * *

**A/N: A long time ago (almost 20 yrs.) I made ice cream the way Aubrey did in the story in 9th grade science class the last day before Christmas Break, it was surprisingly good. If you want to make your own, google 'ice cream in a bag'.**


	33. Chapter 33 Spring Solstice Expansion

Booth watched as Brennan made her way slowly back to bed, once she was settled Booth put his arm around her. "Are you feeling, Better?"

"No. I'm extremely nauseated. I honestly feel like I could be sick any second…"

"I'm sorry, Bones…"

"It'll pass. It's probably something I ate yesterday…"

"I don't think so, Bones. We all had the same thing for breakfast and dinner. You and I had that veggie pasta for lunch yesterday and you're the only sickie."

"…Then I contracted a virus…"

"Maybe. Could you be pregnant?"

"NO…"

"You told me my aftershave was too strong the day before yesterday. The only times you've complained about my aftershave was when you were pregnant with both kids…" Booth softly kissed Brennan's cheek.

"It's possible I suppose. We weren't always careful on vacation… Booth…"

Booth kissed Brennan again, "Do you want me to go to the pharmacy?"

"Yes…"

"Bones, it's going to be okay…"

"I know… it's just…"

"I know. I'm going to tell Parker you're sick and ask him to keep an eye on the other two if they get up before I get back."

"Okay."

"I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth." Booth kissed Brennan again and changed clothes.

B&B

Forty five minutes later Booth quietly opened the bedroom door and found Brennan leaving the bathroom. She sat on the bed and smiled a little, "I'm starting to feel slightly better…"

Booth smiled and sat next to her on the bed, "that's good." Booth handed Brennan the bag from the pharmacy.

"What else did you get?"

"Regardless if you're pregnant or actually sick you're gonna need stuff. I got you veggie broth, crackers, tea, Jell-O, ice pops, ginger ale, and Gatorade."

"Thanks, Booth. I'll be back in a few minutes. Will you wait?"

"Of course, Bones!" Brennan smiled and headed for the bathroom. A few minutes later she came out and sat next to Booth on the bed.

"This is going to be the longest three minutes of my life…"

Brennan chuckled and leaned into Booth. "Don't look at the clock or the test, it'll make it seem like it takes longer…. When I thought it was pregnant with Christine and took the test the morning Michael Vincent was born it felt like it took thirty minutes."

"You knew you were pregnant and didn't tell me all day?"

"It wasn't my intention to go all day without telling you, but we got the case and figured out the victim was on dad's bowling team and we met dad for lunch, I wasn't going to tell you in front of him. Then we went undercover. Then Angela went into labor…" Brennan shrugged.

"The way you told me was perfect…"

"I didn't mean to tell you in the middle of the street. You were talking about Michael Vincent and sounded so happy that it just slipped out…"

"Like I said it was perfect. How had you planned to tell me, or had you planned to tell me?"

"Of course I was going to tell you, Booth. I was going to invite you over for mac and cheese and just tell you…"

"That would have been perfect too."

"As I recall I made you mac and cheese when we got to my place that night."

"That was the best mac and cheese I've EVER had!" Brennan laughed and kissed Booth.

The timer on her phone beeped, she picked up the test. "Booth, I'm pregnant…"

"Aww this is great, Bones! Booth stood up and started to pull Brennan into his arms. "Slowly…"

Booth nodded and carefully pulled Brennan into his arms. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Booth smiled and kissed Brennan deeply. "I love you so much, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth."

"How about I take this stuff into the kitchen and make you some tea?"

"Okay. Leave a sleeve of crackers though."

"I'll leave the whole box, we have half a box in the kitchen."

"Okay." Brennan took the box and started opening it.

Booth was back a few minutes later with Brennan's tea. "The kids are up. I told them you don't feel well and need to rest. Angela called, I told her the same and she invited Christine and Hank over to watch movies all day. Hodgins finally got their home theater done. Parker is going to feed them and drop them off. He's spending the day at Brian's helping him fix his car. He'll get the kids on his way home."

"Good, hopefully by then I'll feel better. This pregnancy is already so different than Christine and Hank's with them I was nauseated, but hardly got sick."

"Are you happy about it though?"

"Of course, Booth. We said we'd talk about having another baby once we got home… we never did… I'm happy we're having another baby, but I'm scared too. I'm three and a half years older than I was when I had Hank. The risks are more. The chances of a genetic abnormality-"

"Shh. I know, but everything will be fine."

"You don't know that…"

"I do…" Brennan smiled and sipped her tea.

"The chances of us having a multiple birth increase…."

"Shh! Don't put that out there, Bones! I'm too old to chase two kidos!"

Brennan kissed Booth and snuggled into his arms. "I'm sad dad's not here. He loved being a grandfather so much. "

"I miss him too."

"I'm calling my doctor Monday to get an appointment to confirm that I am pregnant."

"I'm going to every one of your doctor's appointments, including that one."

"Okay."

B&B

Friday afternoon they were home from Brennan's appointment and everything was fine and on track at the moment. Brennan would be monitored more closely because of her advanced age.

"March 19th seems so far away, but it's going to fly by."

"Yes. The baby is due on the spring solstice. Well, technically the solstice isn't until 11:50 pm, but I hope the baby is born around that time. We should move Parker into the guest room and make his room into the nursery."

"No, let's move Hank into Parker's room and leave the nursery where it is, it's closer to our room."

"Okay. We should just go buy Hank a twin bed and turn his toddler bed back into a crib for the baby."

"Sounds good to me Bones. We can go shopping whenever you're ready."

"Let's wait until we tell Christine and Hank about the baby to move him and go shopping for his bed. We should move Parker before school starts, he'll enjoy having his own bathroom in the mornings."

"Good idea."

"I wonder what he'll think about me being pregnant."

"I think he'll be excited, he never got to experience your other two."

"I hope. I know Christine will be happy. When Angela had Katie she asked for another sibling. Hank won't completely understand, but I think he'll be happy."

"Yeah. What do you think the baby is, Bones?"

"I don't guess, Booth, you know that…"

"I know, but from the moment you found out you were pregnant with Christine you said she was a girl. You knew Hank ws a boy before you went to your doctor to confirm you were pregnant. So what does your mom intuition tell you?"

Brennan smiled, "boy. We're naming him Max Joseph…"

Booth smiled and kissed Brennan." I like it…"

* * *

**A/N: Brennan's pregnancy will be occasionally referenced in the remaining chapters**


	34. Chapter 34 Baseball Talks

"Bones, are you sure you'll be okay with the kids while Parker and I go to Philly for the game?"

"Yes, Booth, I will be fine."

"But this morning…."

"…Wasn't as bad as yesterday morning … I'll be fine. If I need to I'll call Angela and haveher to take Christine and Hank..."

"You'll have to tell her…"

"I'm pretty sure she suspects now anyway. I had to leave the platform quickly Monday. Stop worrying about me and go enjoy one-on-one time with Parker at the Phillies game."

"Aww Bones, I'm sorry this time has been so rough on you."

"It's getting better a few more weeks and hopefully this part will be behind me. You should get going if you don't want to get stuck in traffic."

"All right. Call me if you need me."

"I will."

"I'll call before bedtime."

"Hank is looking forward to your call."

Booth laughed and kissed Brennan. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth."

Booth picked up his bag and left the bedroom. "Let's move, Parks!"

B&B

"So, Parks are you ready to move here?"

"Yep, I can't believe I go back at the end of the month to pack and stuff."

"Me either. We're not going to tell Christine and Hank you're coming back to stay, we're going to surprise them letting you be home when they get up."

"That will be fun. I can't believe mom let me move back, I asked her a few years ago and she blew a gasket…"

"When did you ask her?"

"After Christine was born, before you guys got married…"

"I'm glad she blew a gasket, that was not a good time in Bones and I's relationship for you to move here."

"I know that now after all the Pelant stuff, but at the time I was really mad at her. I got mad at her a lot when she'd not let me see you and stuff when I was a kid."

"I didn't like it either, bub. I tried to fight her for more time with you a few times, but she said if I fought it she'd never let me see you."

"I know."

"I can't believe Bones got us tickets to the game and tickets to tour the ballpark."

"I know, tomorrow is going to be so much fun."

"Yeah, when Hank gets a little older we'll have to bring him and Christine."

"That will be cool. We should bring them back hats or something."

"We are. I'm getting Bones a foam finger…" Parker laughed.

Booth and Parker checked into their hotel, got pizza delivered to their room and watched pay-per-view movies. Booth FaceTimed Brennan to say goodnight to Christine and Hank.

B&B

The next morning Booth was up wondering if he should call Brennan to check on her, he knew if she was sick or not feeling the best his call would more than likely agitate her. He decided to give her another half hour then he'd risk it. Booth smiled a few minutes later when his phone beeped with a text from Brennan:

_'I'm okay, today was worse than yesterday, but not as bad as the morning before. I let Christine and Hank have sugar cereal for breakfast. I poured the milk in their bowls and left Christine a note asking her to help Hank pour his cereal. When I came into the kitchen they were both sitting and happily eating their cereal. We're having a quiet morning at home watching movies in our pajamas in our bed while I sip my tea and eat crackers then maybe we'll go to the park or zoo. Have fun at the game. I love you.'_

Booth replied:

_'I'm sorry this morning is rough and I'm not there to make your tea and feed the kids. I'm sure they liked having sugar cereal more than my pancakes anyway. Your morning sounds nice. (Aside from you being sick) Have fun at the park or the zoo. We'll try and have fun at the game. I'll call you when we get ready to head back later today. I love you too'_

When Booth put his phone down Parker was staring at him. "Dad is Bones really sick or something?"

"No. what makes you think that?"

"Every morning I hear you making her tea and taking it to your room and then I here you talking to her, telling her that everything is okay. When you come to the kitchen you look worried and when Bones comes she doesn't look too good. Plus she never has what you make for breakfast, just toast or crackers and an apple…."

Booth looked down at the floor and grinned, "This wasn't how we wanted to tell you-"

"Bones isn't going to die is she?"

"NO! No, Parker, you're going to be a big brother again… Bones is going to have a baby around the middle of March. Her morning sickness is really bad this time that's why I bring her tea, it's the only thing besides toast or crackers that helps it pass."

"That's cool, but isn't Bones like old…"

"Bones is a little older than most, but everything is good so far. The morning sickness will hopefully pass in a few weeks. What do you think about being a big brother again?"

"It's cool. This time I'll actually get to be the kid's brother and not just someone they see once a year."

"Yeah, it'll be nice to have all four of my kids under one roof. No one but you knows that Bones is pregnant. Don't tell anyone, especially your sister and brother."

"I won't dad."

"Good now go get ready so we can get breakfast and get to the ballpark."

"Okay." As soon as Parker was in the bathroom Booth sent Brennan another text:

_'Parker knows you're pregnant. Apparently I haven't been that good at hiding my worry in the mornings and your paleness in the morning isn't helping. The fact that you haven't eaten actual breakfast in weeks was another clue. He asked if you were sick I just told him, I couldn't think of a lie. Plus I waited a bit too long to answer and he thought you were dying…. Sorry…hope you're feeling better… love you.'_

Brennan chuckled softly and replied:

_'It's fine that he knows, Booth. We're going to have to tell people sooner than we thought. My bump is a bit more noticeable today than it was yesterday. I am feeling better. Once we finish Toy Story we're going to get ready and go to the park. When I can eat breakfast again I want pancakes! Love you too.' _

Booth and Parker finished getting ready and headed for the free breakfast. When they were done they headed to Citizens Bank Park.

"Wow, this place looks bigger in person."

"Yeah, I've never been here. My dad took me to Veteran's Stadium once it was great… the blue chairs in the hallway came from there."

Parker looked at Booth, "my dad wasn't always bad, he drank a lot and beat me, Jared and our mom almost daily. He had periods of sobriety and when those happened he always did something fun with us. He had PTSD, but back then no one knew what it was or how to treat it. I'm not excusing how he treated us. I still think he was a SOB for what he did to us, but I know he needed help but there wasn't anyone that was able to help him. You know when dad was sober he was a cool guy, I honestly don't think he wanted to be the way he was, he just couldn't help it…Anyway enough of that lets just enjoy my birthday present from Bones and eat as much junk food as we can hold…"

"Okay…" They made their way to the Clubhouse Store to begin their tour. After a brief presentation and touring the Phillies Dugout, the Diamond Club, the Hall of Fame Club, Broadcast Booth and Media Room Booth and Parker stopped at the concession stand to get their first round of food before finding their seats a few rows behind the Phillies dugout.

"Bones got us good seats!"

"Yeah, she did!"

"Dad, this is going to be the best day!"

"Yeah it is, Parks." For a brief moment Booth imagined Parker as a 7 year old, not the almost 18 year-old he was. Shaking his head Booth took a bite of his hot dog. After watching the Phillies beat the Nationals 4-3 and stuffing themselves with hotdogs, pizza, pretzels and ice cream plus a lot of lemonade, Booth and Parker slowly made their way to buy shirts and hats for everyone plus Brennan's foam finger. Parker smiled when he saw Booth pick up a three pack of Phillies onesies.

"Dad, shouldn't you wait to see if the baby is a boy before you buy stuff?"

"No, Bones says the baby is a boy so it's a boy. She knew what your sister and brother were before the doctor told us. Besides if she is wrong, which she's not, a girl can wear these too."

"Okay."

B&B

Four hours later Booth opened the front door and was met by Hank. "Daddy! I missed you!" Booth dropped his bags and scooped Hank up, hugging him tight.

"I missed you too, Tiger. You had fun with mommy didn't you?"

"Yep, we watched movies in the big bed. We went to the park and the zoo. We went to the diner I got grilled cheese."

"No noodles?"

"I don't like the kind they have…"

Booth chuckled and kissed the top of his head before putting Hank down and picked up Christine, hugging her.

"How was the zoo, monkey?"

"Fun, we fed the elephants and giraffes. We wanted to ride the carrousel, but mommy said no. we rode the bumper boats instead."

"Sounds like you and Hank had a lot of fun today with mommy."

"We did."

"I'll take you both back to the park tomorrow and you can ride the carrousel as long as you want."

"Yea!"

"I got you, Hank and mommy something. Go get the red bag by the door. The big one." Booth put Christine on the floor. He sat on the couch, Christine was back with the bag. Booth pulled out the first T-shirt and hat handing them to Christine then Hank and Brennan. "I got everybody matching shirts and hats!"

"Cool!"

Brennan rolled her eyes, but she smiled when Booth put her hat on her head and handed her the foam finger.

B&B

Later that night Booth climbed into bed and next to Brennan "it sounds like Christine and Hank had a good day."

"Yes, I did too. The morning was rough, but after Christine and Hank ate their breakfast and we came in here to watch movies and I ate crackers, tea, and one of the kids applesauce cups that Hank brought me I felt better than I have since I found out I'm pregnant."

"That's good, I guess you'll have to give up fresh apples in favor of applesauce cups."

"Maybe. Did you have a good day with Parker?"

"Yes. Today was the best day I've had with him since Rebecca moved him to England. Thanks for the tickets, Bones."

"'You're welcome. Booth. I'm glad you and Parker had a good day together."

Booth picked up the smaller bag from his nightstand. "This is for the baby." Brennan took the bag and opened it. "You got the baby three Phillies onesies?"

"Yeah, I know he'll only be less than a month old when baseball starts, but I got the 3 to 6 month size so maybe he can wear them most of the summer…"

"They are kind of cute… if he's like Hank, he'll only wear the 0 to 3 month size for a month or so anyway." Brennan leaned over and kissed Booth.

"I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth."

* * *

**A/N: FYI my story is going to continue past the final day of the challenge. I hope to have an individual chapter for all the words posted by the end of November. The word I used for this chapter was baseball even though this chapter had very little to do with baseball…**


	35. Chapter 35 Camp Parker

"Are you ready for your final month of summer day camp, Christine?"

"I don't want to go to camp anymore… Couldn't you and daddy stay home with us?"

"Christine, daddy and I wish we could stay home with you, Parker, and Hank, but we have to work. We're going to take a few days off before school starts and spend them with you."

"Couldn't we stay here with Parker?"

Brennan kissed Christine's forehead, "I'm sure Parker would rather see his friends before he goes back to England, he hasn't been able to spend a lot of time with them when he's visited before…."

"Actually Bones, the only person I'm still good friends with is Brian and he works all week. If you want me to watch them I can…"

"I'll have to discuss it with your father."

B&B

After getting Christine in bed later that night Brennan sat on the couch next to Booth. "Christine doesn't want to go to the last session of summer day camp. She would like for you and I to stay home with her and Hank…"

"I wouldn't mind that myself…"

"It would be nice, but we do have to work… When I told Christine, she asked if they could stay here with Parker. He overheard and said if we wanted him to he would watch them. Apparently his time in England has caused him to loose most of his really good friends. His only remaining really good friend Brian works during the day and isn't available to spend time with him."

"I hate that Parker is going to have to essentially make friends again when school starts. I think that the kids would enjoy spending time together without us. I trust Parker with them."

"So do I. we're paying him, sending Christine and Hank to camp for a month costs $400.00. He'll get that much plus we're giving him money to pay for whatever activities they do."

"Sounds fair to me, Bones. Parker, come here." The teen walked over to the couch.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Are you still wanting to babysit Christine and Hank while Bones and I work?"

"Yeah. I don't really have anything to do while you guys are working and they're at camp, it gets boring. Brian works during the week and my being in England so long killed my other friendships, so I have no one to hang out with…"

"You can't babysit them for a few days then change your mind, once I pull them from camp I can't get them back in."

"I won't change my mind, Bones."

"Good we're paying you $100.00 a week-"

"You don't have to pay me, Bones. "

"It's how much we pay for them both to go to camp. Trust me bub you'll earn every penny of that 100 dollars watching your brother and sister all day. We're also giving you money to pay for activities you may do with them."

"Okay. What happens when I go to England to pack?"

"Christine can go to her friend Emma's, her mom has asked about having Christine over all day this summer multiple times. Hank can go back to daycare."

"Okay. What if they do something they're not supposed to?"

"Timeout on the stools by the jukebox. Christine 8 minutes. Hank 3."

"Okay."

"You have all of our numbers plus Cam, Angela, and Aubrey?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to take their car seats out of Bones' car and put them in yours. Thankfully Hodgins didn't give you his Mini Cooper."

"That would have been cool, but the escalade has more room in it. I'm just happy to have my own car…" Parker grabbed his keys and followed Booth outside to help him install the car seats in his car.

B&B

The next morning Christine and Hank were finishing up Booth's French toast when Christine looked up at Brennan. "Mommy, are you sure you and daddy can't stay home with us?"

"We wish we could, Christine, but we have to work. We decided you can stay home with Parker though…"

"Yay!" Christine got up and hugged Brennan. Brennan wiped the syrup off Christine's face.

"I'm glad you're excited about spending time with Parker. Daddy and I expect you and Hank to be on your best behavior, just like you'd be if daddy and I were home with you. If not Parker has our permission to put you in timeout. You have to listen to Parker and do what he tells you, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy."

"What about you, Hank? Are you excited to spend the day with Parker instead of going to camp?"

"Yep!"

"And you're going to behave do what Parker tells you?"

"Uh-huh." Hank stuffed some more French toast in his mouth. Brennan smiled, she knew of the two children, three year old Hank would be the easiest on Parker…


	36. Chapter 36 Adventure at the Park

So far having Parker watch Christine and Hank while Booth and Brennan were working was going well. The kids were happy and usually exhausted by bedtime. Parker usually took them to the park because that was his favorite place to go with Booth when he was their age. He was sitting on the bench watching them play when Hank walked up, "Parker, can you tie my shoe? Chrissy won't…"

"Sure, buddy." Parker bent down and tied Hank's right shoe and tightened the laces on the left one. "You're all set." Parker sat back up and looked over the playground, "Hank, where did Chrissy go?"

"She's on the jungle gym…"

"She's not…" Parker picked Hank up and started toward the playground, looking for Christine after fifteen minutes of looking and not finding her Parker sat down on the bench with Hank in his lap and hit speed dial on his phone.

"Dad, we're at the park the kids were plying on the slide and jungle gym. Hank needed me to tie his shoe when I looked up from tying it Christine wasn't on the jungle gym. I looked for her for fifteen minutes. I can't find her…"

"Parker, stay calm so Hank doesn't get upset. This isn't your fault, I'm not mad at you and Bones won't be either. I'm on my way."

"Okay."

As soon as Booth saw Parker's name on his phone he moved out of his office and motioned for Aubrey to get Agents ready to go search for Christine. Booth hung up his phone. "Aubrey get to hillside park, Christine is missing… I'm gonna get Bones…" Booth was gone before anyone had a chance to reply.

Aubrey quickly went into Booth's office and grabbed the picture off his desk, he came back and held it up.

"Agent Booth's eight year old daughter is missing. She was at Hillside Park about 20 minutes ago. I don't think I need to tell you how important this is…"

Booth made the drive to the lab in less than 5 minutes, he didn't bother parking in his space, he just pulled up to the door pocketed the keys and went inside. He quickly made his way to Brennan's office, instead of standing in the doorway he came all the way in and stood beside her chair.

"Booth?"

"Bones, Parker took the kids to the park and after a while he had to tie Hank's shoes and when he looked up Christine was missing. Aubrey and a bunch of agents are on their way." Brennan just sat in her chair. Booth knelt down and took her hands. "Bones?"

"Did someone take her?"

"It's possible, but I don't think so, she knows to make a scene if someone tries…."

"But..."

"No. Let's go to the park and see what Aubrey has. She'll be okay, you know she has a mind of her own and occasionally wanders off…" Booth helped Brennan to her feet and gently guided her out of her office. They passed Cam on their way out.

"Seeley, what's wrong?"

"Christine is missing from hillside park, Camille…"

"Oh my God. If you guys need anything…" Booth nodded and pulled Brennan closer.

B&B

"Parker, where is Chrissy?"

"I don't know. Dad will be here soon to help find her."

"Okay. Can I go play on the swings?"

"Maybe when dad gets here."

"Okay."

B&B

The drive to the park felt like it took hours, but they were there in minutes. Booth and Brennan made their way to the playground. Aubrey and a few other agents were standing around Parker who was still seated on the bench holding Hank. Brennan broke free from Booth and scooped Hank up in one arm and pulled Parker to her. Booth put a steadying hand on her back. Aubrey came up to him, "We've got agents stationed at the entrances, and no one has come or gone since we got here. Agents are searching grid by grid. I sent the camera feeds from the entrances to Angela, she can look though it faster than we can. We'll find her, Booth."

"I know." Booth guided Brennan over to the bench and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry, Bones. I'm sorry, dad."

"Parker, this isn't your fault. Your dad and I are not upset with you."

"Mommy, you're squeezing me too much…" Brennan loosed her hold on Hank a tiny bit.

"If hadn't-"

"Parker, all you did was look away for thirty seconds to tie Hank's shoe. Your dad and I have done that very thing here numerous times and nothing happened. Christine wanders on occasion, I never thought she'd wander from you though."

"It didn't look like anyone had fell in the pond…"

"Parks, she's a good swimmer, she'd be able to free herself." Brennan handed Hank to Booth and put her arms around Parker, after a while he started to relax a little.

They had been sitting there for a little over an hour when Booth noticed Aubrey coming toward them carrying Christine. He placed her in Brennan's lap. "She was at the bigger playground using the climbing wall. Agent Palmer found her, he actually climbed up behind her and got her off before she got to the top. She's a little mad about it…" Booth couldn't help chuckling softly at Christine sitting on Brennan's lap scowling at everyone with her arms crossed.

"Christine, why did-"

"Bones, let's go home and talk about it and figure out what punishment fits the crime…" Brennan nodded and stood up, Booth moved to take Christine from her Brennan shook her head and started walking to the SUV.

"We were going to have a picnic after we got done playing…"

"Hank, you'll have to have a picnic with Christine and Parker on another day. We all have to go home now since Christine decided to misbehave. Hank started to pout, Booth kissed the top of his head and hugged him.

"Hank, you and I can have a picnic in the back yard when we get home, how's that?"

"Okay."

"Do you want to go home with me?"

"Yeah…"

"You okay to drive?"

"Yeah. My heart isn't racing anymore and I don't feel like I'm gonna puke anymore… I didn't look over by the climbing walls, I didn't think she'd cross the road by herself to get there… she knows not to…"

"You did fine, Parker. You did what you were supposed to, you called me once you couldn't find her. Your sister has a lot of explaining to do…"

Booth shifted Hank and pulled Parker into a tight hug. Once they broke apart Parker picked up their picnic and once Booth put Hank on the ground Parker took his hand. Booth watched them for a few minutes before heading to the SUV.

"Where is Hank, Booth?" there was a bit of panic in Brennan's voice.

"He's riding home with Parker. When they get home they're going to have a picnic in the backyard to make up for today's change of plans." Brennan nodded and took Booth's hand as he started to drive away.

B&B

Once everyone was home Parker left Christine's lunch on the counter and took everything else into the backyard with Hank.

Booth pointed to the couch and Christine wordlessly climbed up. Booth and Brennan sat on either side of her.

"Christine, why did you wander away from Parker and go to the bigger playground?"

"I don't know…"

"Christine, that's not an answer…" Booth's voice was calm, not like it was when he was interrogating a suspect.

"I wanted to go down the big slide…"

"Why didn't you just ask Parker to take you over there?"

"Hank doesn't like the big slide or the climbing walls. He'd have said no, mommy did when we went the park when you were at the baseball thingy…" Christine started twisting the hem on her shirt.

"Christine, my saying no to you going over to the big slide had nothing to do with your brother's dislike for it. I was starting to not feel well and wanted to get home before I started feeling worse." Brennan glanced at Booth and shook her head, today wasn't the day to tell Christine she was going to be a big sister again.

"You can't wander off like that again, understand? If something would have happened to you and you got hurt or worse…. Everyone would have been upset, especially daddy and I."

"Yes. I'm sorry!"

"Your dad and accept your apology, Christine, but it isn't enough. You're still getting a punishment."

"Okay."

"When Parker called and told me you were missing mommy and I got so scared that something happened to you."

"You and mommy got scared?" Christine looked surprised.

"Of course we did! Our little girl was missing from the park and no one knew where you were. Christine you can't cross the street by yourself until you can drive a car."

"That's forever, daddy!"

"Exactly my point. Go eat your lunch at the counter and then go to your room. Mommy and I need to talk about your punishment."

"Okay." Christine slid off the couch and went to the kitchen.

Booth put his arm around Brennan, she leaned into him. "Scared isn't the word for how I felt when you came into my office and told me she was missing… I don't think there is a word that adequately describes my feelings in that moment…"

"I know. When Parker told me I was more scared in that moment than I have been in all my years as an agent and in the Army."

"I had visions of her not being found and ending up at the lab someday…"

"Bones, she's fine, she's safe. She's putting potato chips between the layers of her ham and cheese sandwich…"Brennan chuckled softly.

"She's grounded. No TV or computer time and she's doing extra chores for the rest of the summer. No going to Angela's next week for the sleepover she's been looking forward to for the last week. Hank can go if he wants. I'm leaving the decision to go to the park again to Parker. I still trust him to watch them, nothing that happened today was his fault. I do think she took advantage of the fact that he's been babysitting them and taking them to the park and other places instead of us. I have no way of knowing if one of us being at the park today would have stopped her behavior, but I do think she might have thought about it a little more before acting. We're also holding off on letting her get the juvenile canine she's been wanting…"

"I agree with your punishment, Bones. I still trust Parker with them too. I am a little sad about having to wait for the juvenile canine though… I'm making her apologize to Parker and Aubrey. I'm going to help her write a letter to Stark to apologize because he Okayed the whole missing persons division and my division to search for her. He had the K&R guys on standby just in case. He was getting ready to deploy the helicopter and the dogs…"

"Really?"

"Yeah, an agent's kid goes missing, that's highest priority. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just tired. Baby is fine."

"Go lay down, I'll bring you lunch in a while…"

"I should go back to the lab, I was in the middle of writing my findings on the remains I got from Norway."

"No, we're both taking the rest of the day off to recover from the emotional trauma of this morning."

"Okay…" Booth kissed Brennan and watched her get up from the couch and hug Christine as she went to their bedroom.

B&B

Booth walked to the counter and stole one of Christine's potato chips.

"Hey!"

"You're grounded. No TV or computer time and you're doing extra chores for the rest of the summer. No going to Angela's next week for the sleepover."

"But…"

"No but. You also need to apologize to Parker and Uncle Aubrey for making them worry about you. I am going to help you write a letter of apology to my boss because he ordered a good portion of the FBI to stop the other very important things they were doing and look for you. Finish your lunch and go apologize to Parker while I make mommy some lunch then we'll write your letter and call Uncle Aubrey."

"Okay." Booth nodded and headed for the stove to start making Brennan some soup.

Christine walked quietly to Parker's room and went over to his bed and climbed up next to him.

"I'm sorry for walking to the other playground without asking first."

"Apology accepted, Christine. If you'd asked me, I'd taken you over there…"

Christine traced the pattern on Parker's bedspread with her finger. "Parker, are you mad at me?"

"No, don't scare me again like that though."

"Okay." Parker pulled Christine closer and hugged her.


	37. Chapter 37 Outside in the Backyard Only

It had been a few days since Christine had wandered away at the park. Everyone had accepted her apologies, Stark was even going to frame her letter and hang it in his office. Parker had been surprised that Booth and Brennan had wanted him to continue watching her and Hank. Brennan was sitting on Christine's bed braiding her hair after her bath before bed.

"Mommy, I want to go back to camp…"

"Why? I thought you liked staying home with Parker…"

"I did when we'd actually do stuff, but now we can only play in the house or outside in the backyard! He won't even let us eat lunch at the diner anymore. At least with camp we go on fieldtrips sometimes..."

"Christine, do I need to remind you what happened the last time he took you somewhere?"

"But I already said I was sorry and I wrote that letter to daddy's boss…"

"Christine, just because you said you're sorry that doesn't make people forget what happened. You scared Parker a lot. It might take him a while to feel comfortable taking you somewhere. Until then enjoy playing in the backyard. You're not going back to camp because you're upset your previous actions are not currently allowing you to go somewhere…"

"Okay I guess…"

Brennan secured the braid, "your hair is done. Get in bed so I can tuck you in." Christine slid off the bed and waited as Brennan pulled the blankets down then she climbed in. Brennan tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you.

Good night, Mommy. I love you too."

B&B

Brennan walked into the kitchen and found Parker making popcorn. "Hey Bones, I'm going to watch a movie, I'll keep the sound down."

"Parker, you don't have to keep the sound down, Christine and Hank can sleep through anything. Your dad and I aren't going to bed for a few hours yet." Parker nodded and got a bowl to pour his popcorn into.

"Parker, you know your dad and I don't blame you for Christine's little escape…"

"I know…"

"We trust you to watch her and Hank. You don't have to stay here with them, you can take them places like you did before…"

Parker smiled a little, "Christine complained about only being able to play outside in the backyard, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"I am scared to take them out to be honest, Hank not so much, but Christine…"

"I understand. She wandered away from me at the grocery store when your dad was in jail. I found her in the seafood department looking at the live lobster tank. I took her with me again the next week, but it wasn't easy. I don't think she'll wander off anytime soon, since your dad made her apologize to Stark and he had your dad bring her in so he could talk to her about how serious what she did was and how much money and manpower they almost spent looking for her."

"She apologized to me again when they got home. I'll take them out in a few days."

Brennan nodded and kissed Parker's cheek.

**A/N: I'm posting two chapters at once so hit the next button….**


	38. Chapter 38 Inside Outings

The next day Brennan was in her office writing a report when Hank ran in and crashed into her. "Hi mommy!"

Brennan smiled and picked him up. "Hello Hank! What are you doing here?"

"We're going on outings today. We were wondering if you'd like to join us at the diner for lunch. Dad is meeting us there."

Brennan looked up to see Parker standing in her office doorway, "You look like your dad when you do that. I'd love to have lunch at the diner with you. Where is Christine?"

"She's looking at Hodgins' new bugs…" Parker shrugged.

Brennan stood up with Hank in her arms and headed out of her office.

B&B

Twenty minutes later they were all sitting at the diner eating, Booth and Parker had cheeseburgers and fries. Christine was having chicken tenders and mashed potatoes. Hank was having grilled cheese and apple sauce. Brennan was having salad and Booth's fries.

"Are you guys having fun with Parker today?"

"Un-huh. We went to the liaberry."

"Library. What did you do there?"

"The lady read a story about a cat and I got a book about dinosaurs …" Hank ate the middle out of half of his grilled cheese.

"That sounds fun. Did you get a book Christine?"

"Yep. I got two Amelia Bedelia books and one about butterflies."

"Those will be fun for you to read."

"Do you have plans for after lunch?"

"I thought we'd look at the exhibits when we take you back. I always thought it was fun when you and dad would take me." Parker looked at his plate.

Brennan smiled, "they will enjoy it. The museum has changed a lot since we took you the last time."

"I can imagine."

"Mommy come with us!"

"I have to work today, but we'll go back before school starts."

"Okay."

B&B

Brennan was back in her office when Cam popped her head in forty-five minutes later.

"Brennan, did I see Parker, Christine, and Hank upstairs?"

"It's possible they're looking at the exhibits this afternoon. Hank wanted me to go with them."

"You should."

"I have reports to do…"

"Finish the one you're working on and then go join them."

"But I have remains waiting…"

Brennan, he's been dead for 107 years, one more day not knowing who he is won't hurt anything…"

"Fine I'll finish this and go join them."

Thirty minutes later Brennan quietly walked up behind Hank at the dinosaur exhibit and tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around. "MOMMY!"

"Hey buddy are you having fun?"

"Yep. The dinosaurs are cool!" Brennan smiled and picked Hank up, turning her attention to the massive dinosaur skeleton in front of her.


	39. Chapter 39 A Short Trip Home

The Booth family was standing in the international terminal of the airport saying goodbye to Parker. He was heading back to England for two weeks to pack and say goodbye.

"Parker, don't go, you said you'd stay until September, it's only July…"

"I know I was planning to stay until September, but my other mom decided that we're going to move to a new house. I need to go home and help her pack and move stuff. I'll be back for Thanksgiving, you and Hank can mark the days off on the countdown we made last night."

"Okay."

"Have dad or Bones help you two call me Saturday before you go to bed."

"Okay."

"Everybody give Parker one more hug before he has to get on the plane." Christine and Hank hugged Parker again. Then he moved onto Brennan. "See you soon, Parker…"

"Yeah…"

Parker moved to Booth, Booth pulled him into a tight hug. "Text me EVERY TIME you change planes. Tell your mom congratulations from us."

"I will. I can't believe I'm getting a stepdad that's like way younger than you…"

"Watch it, pal. Garth is only 11 years younger than I am. Bones is 5 years 4 months and some odd days younger than me, you don't think that's weird do you?"

"No, but it's Bones…" Booth chuckled and they all waved as Parker walked away. Booth picked up Christine and kissed her forehead. "Parker will be back soon."

"Thanksgiving is in a long time…"

"Sort of, but Parker will be back before you know it… One night you'll go to sleep and wake up the next day and he'll be here…"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. Let's go to the diner for dinner…"

"I don't want to…"

"How about pizza and a movie in the cave then?"

"Can we watch Aladdin? The old one."

"Yes."

"Okay…" Booth carried Christine out of the airport, Brennan followed with Hank.

B&B

An hour later the opening credits of Aladdin were rolling and Christine and Hank were sitting on the floor eating their pizza.

Booth and Brennan were sitting on the couch, "Booth, do you think we should tell them Parker is moving in with us and he'll be back in two weeks?"

"Let it be a surprise, Bones. If we tell them now, they'll both nag us every second until he gets back."

"But they're sadder than usual about him leaving…"

"Well, they've gotten to spend a lot of time with him this summer and they've grown more attached to him. It's a short trip for him, by the time they get used to him being gone he'll be home again."

"I can't wait…"

"Neither can I, it will be nice to have all four of my kids under the same roof next summer…"


	40. Chapter 40 Picnic for Two

**A/N: just to clear up some confusion with my last chapter. Brennan is pregnant (B&B found out in chapter 33, "Spring Solstice Expansion") The baby is due March 19th so by the time the next summer rolls around Booth will have his 4 kids under one roof.**

* * *

Booth walked quickly to Brennan's office, he stood in the doorway for a minute watching her. "Hey Bones, are you ready for lunch?"

Brennan looked up and smiled slightly, "hello Booth. Yes, I'm actually hungry today. "

"That's good."

Brennan saved the file she was working on and stood up following Booth out of the lab.

"Booth you missed the turn for the diner…"

"We're not going to the diner today. I thought we'd have a picnic for lunch today. I stopped at the deli and got you a veggie pita with humus and chips on the side and a large lemonade slush. I put a small cooler with ice packs in the SUV this morning so it should still be slush. I'm having corned beef on rye with extra mustard and onion rings. I also got a lemonade slush. I also got both of us a chocolate caramel brownie. I got a regular chocolate one to take home for Christine and I got Hank a large chocolate chip cookie…"

Brennan smiled, "a picnic sounds nice."

"Yeah, I miss our coffee on the beach. I know it's not the same, but it's the best I can do."

"I miss our coffee on the beach too. Maybe when Parker gets home we can go to the Mall on Saturday and get coffee and walk around sometimes."

"That would be nice. Do you want to eat at one of the picnic tables or on a blanket?'

"I think a blanket would be nice." Booth parked and went to the back to get their food and the blanket. He handed Brennan the blanket and they walked for a few minutes until they found a shady spot. "I think this is a good spot."

"I concur." Booth spread the blanket out and helped Brennan down to it before joining her and unpacking their lunch. They ate and talked about sending Hank and Christine to Angela's for the day so they could move Parker's room to the guest room without questions. They decided to let  
Hank have Parker's twin bed and let the almost eighteen year old use the full size bed that was in the room to begin with. Before either of them wanted it was time to go back to work, Booth helped Brennan to her feet. Booth was folding the blanket when Brennan's phone rang...

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**A/N2: I'm posting two chapters so hit the next button….**


	41. Chapter 41 Muddy Shorts

Brennan listened to the call, "I'll be there in twenty minutes…."

"They need you at the lab?"

"No. Hank fell in the mud, he needs a change of clothes and a bath…"

"Poor buddy. It's a good thing we keep changes of clothes and pajamas in the SUV for him and Christine."

"Yes, I just hope something fits, he's grown a lot this summer."

"Check the bag and if we need to I can run by the store on the way back to the lab."

Brennan opened the back and started looking though the bag, a few minutes later she joined Booth in the SUV.

"I found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that should fit him and underwear. We don't have socks or shoes in the bag though. Hopefully his aren't too dirty."

"Yeah, I'm just glad we have clothes for him. Why do you have an extra-large evidence bag and one of the plastic sheets you put down to prevent things from getting contaminated?"

"The bag is for his clothes and the sheet is for me to wrap around him when I carry him to the lab to use the decontamination shower. Remind me to bring our bag of clothes and the kid's bag inside tonight and go through them. I need to put some maternity outfits in mine, my clothes are starting to not fit like they usually do. It's happening faster this time…"

B&B

Booth dropped Brennan off at the daycare entrance. She went in the office and found Hank sitting on a blanket covered chair, Hank looked up and saw Brennan coming toward him and burst into tears. Brennan quickened her pace and knelt in front of the chair and took his hands. "It's okay Hank, it was an accident-"

"Sean pushed me!"

"Okay. Did you tell your teacher?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good."

"Sean got time out and a red sticker…"

"I'm going to put this sheet around you so I can carry you to the lab without getting muddy. Then we'll get you cleaned up okay?"

"K."

"After you get cleaned up do you want to just to stay in my office with me until daddy comes to take us home? Or do you want to go back to daycare?"

"I wanna stay with you."

"Okay." Brennan wrapped the sheet around Hank and picked him up, she signed him out and headed to the lab. Angela met them coming back from lunch. "Brennan? Hank? What happened? "

"Sean pushed me!" Brennan smiled and kissed the back of Hank's head as he pushed himself in to her arms.

"Sean pushed Hank down into a mud puddle now he needs clean clothes and a bath…"

"Aww, poor buddy! Do you need help?"

"No."

"Okay." Angela put in her access code for the lab door and let Brennan and Hank enter.

"Thanks Ange."

"You're welcome, Bren."

Brennan carried Hank into the decontamination shower area. "Hank, this shower isn't like the one we have at home. The water is going to come out faster and be a lot warner, but I'll go slowly." Brennan put Hank on the ground and knelt down to begin taking off his muddy clothes. Once that ws done Brennan helped Hank climb into the shower, "Hank, I'm going to wash your hair first. I don't have the shampoo we use at home, the kind I have will sting if it gets in your eyes so hold this washcloth over your eyes while I wash your hair."

"K." Hank took the washcloth from Brennan and held it over his eyes while she carefully and quickly washed and rinsed his hair. Twenty minutes later Brennan carried Hank towards her office, on the way they stopped at Angela's.

"Ange?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any socks of Michael Vincent's that Hank could borrow? His socks and shoes are too muddy for him to wear."

"Let me see what I have in my bag of spare clothes…" Angela got up from her computer and pulled down an oversize duffel bag from the closet. She looked though it for a few minutes and held up a small pair of socks.

"I found a pair of toddler size socks, hopefully they'll fit." Angela walked over to Brennan and slipped a sock on Hank's left foot, it fit. "Did you enjoy your decontamination shower, Hank?"

"No!"

Angela put the other sock on Hank's right foot. "Yeah, they really aren't that fun. You can keep the socks, they haven't fit Michael Vincent for years."

"Thanks, Ange."

"You're welcome, Bren. Hank can hang out in here and watch moves on the Angela-Tron if he wants."

"Do you want to watch movies in Aunt Angela's office?"

"No, I wanna stay with you!"

"Okay."

"If he changes his mind send him over."

"I will." Brennan got up to leave. "Hold on, Bren." Angela went back to the closet and came back with and individual package of cheese flavored crackers and a juice box, she handed them to Hank, he smiled.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, buddy."

Brennan went back to her office and went to put Hank on the couch. "Hold me, mommy…"

"Sweetheart, I can't hold you and work at the same time, but I'll sit next to you on the couch and work while you eat your snack and listen to the new books I recorded for you."

"K."

Brennan got the files she had to work on and her laptop then she got out the recorder of Hank's favorite books and the headphones handing them to him before opening his crackers and juice. Once Hank was settled and not paying attention to what she was doing Brennan opened her laptop and started working. When Booth came to get Brennan a few hours later he found Brennan's laptop and files neatly stacked on the coffee table and Brennan holding Hank as they both slept.


	42. Chapter 42 Booth's New Lawnmower

Booth sat down hard on a stool and took a long drink of water. "Bones, I swear every time I mow it takes longer than it did the week before. When the home improvement store gets the lawnmowers on an end of season sale I'm getting one of those fancy riding mowers, using the push mower is killing my knees and back."

Brennan looked up from cutting the crust off Hank's peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "Booth, I've suggested that you get one for years. You really need to reduce wear and tear on your joints. With the amount of trauma you've been subjected to over the years and your age it isn't a good idea for you to put unnecessary stress and wear on your body. I'm afraid your joints will give out before anything else and you will have significantly reduced mobility when you're older."

"Are you saying I'm old, Bones?"

"No. Someone younger who has been through what you have would also benefit from a riding mower. Booth, I hate to say this, but you have the joints and spine of someone ten to fifteen years older..."

"I know. Some days i feel like I'm 100, especially when I first get up in the morning." Booth finished his water and slipped off the stool and walked around the counter behind Brennan, he kissed her and stole the cut off crusts from Hank's sandwich. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth."

"I'm going to take a shower..."

B&B

Five days later Booth came in the house with a surprised look on his face. "Bones, why is there a riding mower in the garage?"

"I purchased it for you. I saw no reason to wait for the end-of-season sales when you can use it now. The salesperson said it's the best lawnmower currently on the market…"

"Bones…"

"Booth…"

"You shouldn't have…"

"Think of it as a belated father's day present from the children…"

Booth laughed, "If that's the case we're giving Christine too much allowance and the tooth fairy needs to lower her prices…Thank you for the new lawnmower, Bones."

"You're welcome, Booth."

"I'm going to go change and check it out."

"The keys and manual are on the counter. Don't forget we're expected at Hodgins and Angela's at 6 for dinner…"

"Can't you bring me a plate?"

"No. tomorrow is Saturday, you can spend all day with your new mower then…"

"I'm still gonna go look at it…"

"We're leaving in a little over an hour."

"I'll be ready…" Booth kissed Brennan and grabbed the keys and the manual and headed back to the garage.

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**A/N: I'm posting two chapters so hit the next button….**


	43. Chapter 43 Daisies for Mommy

It was a Saturday and Booth and Hank were running errands, they had been to the post office, the bank the home improvement store and the grocery store and now they were on their way home.

"Did you have fun today, Hank?"

"Yep!"

"That's good."

They stopped at a light, "Daddy, what's that store?"

Booth looked ahead, "that's the florist they sell flowers. Do you want to get some for mommy?"

"Yeah!"

When it was his turn Booth turned into the parking lot, parked and got Hank out of his car seat. They entered the store, the florist, Jean looked up and smiled. "Hello, Mr. Booth. "

"Hi Jean."

"Are you needing something special today?"

"No. we were passing by and decided to get some flowers for Bones."

"Dr. Brennan is a lucky lady, getting flowers for no reason! Let me know when you've picked out what you want." Booth nodded and headed to the back, stopping in front of the buckets of daisies."

"Daisies are one of mommy's favorite flowers. Daffodils are her other favorite. What color daisies should we get her?"

"All of them!"

Booth laughed, "Okay, how about we get two of each color?"

"Okay."

They went back to the front. "That was fast. What did you decide on?"

"We would like two of every color daisy you have."

"That's going to be one colorful bouquet, Dr. Brennan will love it. I'll have it ready in a few minutes. A few minutes later Jean came back with a bouquet of yellow, white, orange, pink, red, and purple daisies. "What do you think?"

"I think Bones will love it. Do you think mommy will like her flowers, Hank?"

"Yep."

Booth smiled and paid Jean, Hank reached for the flowers. "I'll carry them to the car and into the house, but you can give them to mommy yourself."

"Okay."

"Thanks, Jean."

"Sure. Have a good day."

B&B

Twenty minutes later Booth handed Hank the bouquet, "Be careful." Hank slowly walked toward the couch. "Mommy! We got you flowers!"

"You did?" Brennan quickly got up and took the flowers from Hank. "Thank you, sweetheart. They're beautiful. I love them very much." Brennan hugged Hank and kissed his cheek, he grinned and ran off to find Christine.

Booth brought in the load of groceries and put them on the counter. "I see Hank gave you your flowers safely."

"Yes. They make a very bright and colorful bouquet…"

"Yeah, Hank wanted to get you all the colors of daisies Jean had so we did…"

"Thank you, Booth. I love them."

"You're welcome, Bones."


	44. Chapter 44 Angelica Roses

Hodgins was in his greenhouse when he heard the door open, looking up he saw Michael Vincent standing by the closed door. "Hey Buddy, what's up?"

"Can I stay here while mom goes to baby group with Katie and the store?"

"Yeah…" Hodgins sent Angela a text to let her know he was fine with Michael Vincent staying with him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making a new verity of climbing roses for your mom for her birthday…"

"You can make new flowers?"

"Yes, if you know how and have the correct supplies."

"Cool."

Hodgins grinned a little, "Yeah it is cool. You can come closer so you can watch me do it. It's not going to explode or anything." Michael Vincent walked to Hodgins' work table and pulled out the stool from under the table and sat down.

"Your mom loves climbing roses and English tea roses. I'm combing the two to make a climbing English tea rose in a deep red color that is also her favorite. if it goes according to plan they'll be ready to plant on the garden arch by your mom's birthday."

"Cool." Michael Vincent watched as Hodgins carefully grafted parts of the English tea rose and a climbing rose together along with parts of another rose to get the right shade of red.

Hodgins held up the new plant, "I'm going to call these 'Angelica Roses.'"

"After mom?"

"Yeah…"

H&A

Hodgins and Michael Vincent were just finishing up when Angela stuck her head in the doorway. "What have you guys been doing in here for the past 3 hours?"

"We were getting plants ready for next year plus we had to feed and water stuff that's planted for this year…." Hodgins grinned a little.

"Uh-huh. Come help me get the groceries inside. Then go wash your hands I got pizza, breadsticks with ALL the dipping sauces they offer plus cinnamon twists for an early dinner. We can watch a movie while we eat."

"We'll be right there, Ange." Angela nodded slightly and headed back to her car. Hodgins and Michael Vincent soon followed.

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**A/N: I'm posting three chapters at once so hit the 'next' button….**


	45. Chapter 45 Family Sail Sunday

Hodgins was diving himself and Michael Vincent to Sandy point State Park in Annapolis Maryland so that they could take part in the family sail day through the Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating club. Hodgins had been a member of the club since the accident, it allowed him to compete in regattas and clinics with other disabled sailors.

"Dad, why did you get me up so early?"

Hodgins chuckled a little, "because the morning sail leaves the dock at 9:30. I thought we'd go early then go get something to eat when we got done. I also thought we could stop at the hobby store on the home and get some models to build together and maybe pick up another train set…"

"Cool."

"Go to sleep we've got at least an hour to go, maybe more before we get there in this traffic…"

"Okay."

An hour and a half later Hodgins was lowered into a special seat on the boat via Hoyer lift and strapped in, Michael Vincent sat next to him. They both put on life jackets before they left the dock. The morning was perfect for sailing, the water was calm and everyone was enjoying themselves. Hodgins hadn't been on the family sail weekend yet and he couldn't wait to get Angela and Katie out on the water with him at some point before the last family sail day in October. Before long they were back at the dock and Hodgins was being lowered back into his wheelchair. "Did you have fun Michael Vincent?"

"Yeah, this was actually a little bit more fun than the pirate ship thing, it was really easy to figure out where the hidden treasure was, especially with Uncle Booth on the team…."

Hodgins laughed, "yeah, Uncle Booth and Aunt Brennan are the best mystery solvers… let's get something to eat, I'm starving."

"Okay, I want chocolate chip waffles and bacon…"

"You got it…" Hodgins headed for his van.

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**A/N: I'm posting three chapters at once so hit the 'next' button….**

**A/N2: Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating is a real organization in Annapolis Maryland that allows those with disabilities to sail. They have one 'family sail Sunday' a moth April through October so members can sail with their families **


	46. Chapter 46 Watermelon Balls

Brennan was standing at the counter cutting into a perfectly ripe watermelon. Now that her morning sickness was finally over and she could eat food again she was craving fruit, most any fruit would satisfy her craving but she had been craving watermelon for the past few days. She cut the melon in half and sat one half aside and began scooping out the flesh of the other half with a melon baller. Christine and Hank wandered in to the kitchen.

"Mommy, what are you doing?"

"I'm using a melon baller to make watermelon balls to eat for snacks later. Would you like some watermelon?"

"No, it's yucky!"

"Have you tried it?"

"No…"

Brennan cut one of the watermelon balls in half and gave part of it to Hank. "Try it. if you still think it's yucky after you eat a bite you don't have to eat anymore."

"Okay." Hank took the bite of watermelon form Brennan, and put it in his mouth and chewed it up.

"Do you like it?"

"Uh-huh."

"Do you want some more?"

"Uh-huh."

Brennan pulled down a small bowl and began cutting watermelon balls in half and putting them inside. "Christine, would you like some?"

"No. Can I use the baller thing?"

Brennan smiled, "in a minute." She finished cutting Hank's melon and watched him climb onto a stool, taking the bowl from her. She rinsed her hands before digging through a drawer for another melon baller, after finding it she handed it to Christine before placing the other half of the watermelon in front of her. "Make as many watermelon balls as you want."

"Cool!"

* * *

**A/N: I think it's time for Parker to come home…**


	47. Chapter 47 Movies in the Blistering Heat

"Bones, I know we promised Christine and Hank we'd go to the zoo today, but I'm not walking around in the blistering heat looking at monkeys…"

"I agree. They won't be happy at first, but if we allow them to watch TV and/or movies all day that should improve their moods."

"Are you sure? You usually don't allow excessive T.V. viewing…"

I'm sure. It's hot and if we make them play with each other they're going to fight. Hank is in a phase I think where he LOVES to needle Christine and she falls for it every time. If we let them do arts and crafts I will need to supervise and I don't feel like doing that right now."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just hot even with the air conditioning. Plus they'll enjoy the day."

"Do you think we should tell them?'

"Yes. I am having a hard time hiding it. Angela and Cam know, I got really sick at the lab a few weeks ago, I had to tell Cam before she called you to come take me home. I almost let her call you anyway, I'm very thankful that part is behind me…"

"Me too, there were a few mornings I thought about taking you to the ER…"

"I know a few times I almost asked you to…"

Booth kissed Brennan, "I'm making breakfast burritos today."

"They will enjoy them. Don't forget to put ketchup instead of salsa in Hank's. There's fruit salad to have with it. I'm having oatmeal." Booth nodded and headed for the kitchen.

B&B

An hour later they were finishing up breakfast. "Are we going to the zoo now?"

"Christine, I know daddy and I promised you and Hank we'd go to the zoo today, but it's too hot out to walk around all day."

"But..."

"We'll go this weekend it's supposed to be cooler."

"Okay I guess."

"You can watch movies all day if you'd like."

'Yeah…"

"You have to let Hank choose some of his favorite movies to watch too."

"All right…"

"Put your plates in the sink then go sit on the couch, daddy and I have something to tell you both."

"Okay."

A few minutes later Booth was holding Christine, Brennan was holding Hank. "I'm going to have another baby in March. Christine you're going to be a big sister again. Hank you're going to be a big brother…"

"Yea!" Christine reached over and hugged Brennan. "I'm SO happy!"

Brennan smiled and kissed Christine's cheek, "I'm glad, Christine. What do you think about becoming a big brother, Hank?"

The little boy shrugged, Brennan pulled him closer and kissed the top of his head. "It'll be fun once the baby gets here. You can teach the baby all kinds of things once it gets older. Like Christine teaches you. You will have someone else to play with too." Brennan turned Hank a little and put his hand on her side, he got a slightly confused look on his face. "That's your little brother or sister moving around in my belly. It's a little cool, right?"

"Yeah."

"I wanna feel…"

"Put your hand next to Hank's…"

Christine did. "Cool. Where is the baby going to sleep?"

"We're going to make the guest room into Parker's room and Hank can move into Parker's old room. The baby can sleep in Hank's room. Your room stays the same."

"Okay."

"Do I gotta sleep in Parker's room now?"

"No, not in less you want to now. We can wait a little while, but after Christmas you'll have to sleep in Parker's room so we can set up the crib in your room for the baby to sleep in after it's born..."

"Okay. I'll wait."

"Okay. "Brennan kissed the top of Hank's head.

"Let's go build the biggest blanket fort we can in my man cave to watch our movies in."

"Okay!" Christine got up and started heading for Booth's man cave.

"I wanna stay here with mommy!" Brennan smiled and kissed Hank's head again.

"He can stay with me, Booth. We might join you two later."

"Okay." Booth stood up he kissed Brennan then he kissed Hank's forehead. "Have fun with mommy, buddy."

Once they were alone upstairs Brennan took Hank to her bedroom. "Would you like to watch movies in here in the big bed?"

"Yep!" Brennan put Hank on the bed and watched as he climbed up in the middle and waited for her.

* * *

**A/N: Parker comes home in the next chapter…**


	48. Chapter 48 Travel from England

Booth quietly opened the front door, Brennan looked up and shook her head. Booth grinned and stepped back letting Parker enter the house. Brennan moved out from behind the stove to hug him.

"I'm glad you're back, Parker. Christine and Hank are still sleeping, they don't know you're coming back to stay."

"Good, I wanted to surprise them."

Brennan nodded, "how was your flight?"

"Long and bumpy. I'm glad I'm here and don't have to go through it again until May for the wedding." They heard a door open down the hall, Booth moved out of sight, Parker moved to Booth's usual place at the table and picked up the newspaper. Brennan moved behind the counter just as Christine came into the kitchen and climbed onto a stool. "Morning mommy."

"Good morning, Christine. Did you sleep well?"

"Yep. What's for breakfast, I'm starving!"

"Breakfast casserole. I also made cinnamon rolls."

"Those are Parker's favorite! I miss him…"

"I know, I miss him too. We can try to call him after breakfast."

"Yea!"

Brennan smiled, "go sit at the table, breakfast is almost ready."

"Okay." Christine slid off the stool and headed to the table just as Hank walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Brennan's leg. She smiled and picked him up, heading for the table. Christine stopped at Booth's chair and started to kiss his cheek. "PARKER!"

"Hey Christine!"

"Mommy! Parker's here!"

"I see that." Brennan handed Hank to Parker.

"I thought you weren't coming home until Thanksgiving…"

"Well, I have something to tell you two. I'm moving here…"

"Really?"

"Yes, I had to go home and pack my stuff and get it shipped here. I wanted to surprise you guys. Are you surprised?"

"Yeah! Can I stay here with you again instead of going to Emma's house for the rest of the summer?"

"Yes, I'll have to stay here and unpack my stuff when it gets here though."

"Okay. Mommy's going to have another baby…"

"That'll be fun won't it?"

"Yeah…"

"What do you think, Hank?" the three year old shrugged. "Being a big brother is fun and important. We'll talk about all of it later over peanut butter and jelly in the backyard."

"Okay. Do I gotta sleep in your room now?" Parker looked at Brennan, she shook her head.

"No, not right now, but you will before the baby gets here. You don't want to share a room with a baby do you? They cry a lot, especially at night. I have a box of old toys I used to play with in my closet, you can have them to play with one you move in there."

"Okay."

"Everybody sit down. Breakfast is ready." The kids got in their chairs and waited for Booth and Brennan to carry the breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls to the table.

B&B

After breakfast had been eaten and the dishes stacked in the dishwasher Christine turned to Brennan. "What are we going to do today, mommy?"

"We aren't going to do anything this morning, Parker needs to rest after having to travel from England most of the night. Hank can choose a movie for us all to watch this morning."

"Okay." Ten minutes later everyone was settled in the living room to watch Toy Story 2. Parker sat next to Brennan. "Parker, wouldn't you be more comfortable resting in your bed?"

"I'm not tired, I slept most of the flight."

"Okay." Fifteen minutes later Parker was leaning against Brennan sound asleep. "Booth…"  
Booth turned and smiled slightly at Brennan.

"Do you want me to wake him up?"

"No, I can sit with him like this for a while, just take Christine and Hank outside so they don't wake him up." Booth nodded.

"Let's finish the movie later you two, when Parker is awake. Let's go outside and play so he can sleep…"

"Okay."


	49. Chapter 49 Backpacking through Europe

Parker had been home for a few days everyone was enjoying having him home, especially Christine and Hank. Booth and Brennan were enjoying time together after the youngest Booths were in bed when Parker walked into the living room.

"Dad, Bones, can I talk to you guys for a minute?"

"Sure, bub, what's up?"

"I was talking to Brian this afternoon and he said his parents are paying for him to go backpacking through Europe after graduation. They're also paying for a friend to go with him, he wants me to go. Can I?"

"What about your mom's wedding?"

"I can go to that and stay with her until Bryan gets to London and we can go from there. They're not going on a honeymoon until the fall so…"

"Bones and I need talk about it and talk to Sherri and Tim, bub."

Parker nodded, "I know. Mom and I went to a lot of places in Europe over the years, but it'd be more fun to go with Brian…"

"Of course it would be."

"Can I use your man cave?"

"Yeah."

"The spicy salsa you prefer is on the top shelf of the refrigerator."

"Thanks Bones."

A few minutes later Parker was in the man cave and Brennan turned to Booth. "Booth, we should let him go…"

Booth smiled at Brennan and kissed her forehead. " I am. I just didn't want to say yes right away. I'm still going to talk to Sherri and Tim though."

"Of course."

"He's going to have a blast. My graduation trip was courtesy of the U.S. Army…"

"I didn't get a graduation trip, I left for Northwestern the day after I graduated. I technically aged out of the system six weeks into my senior year, but my foster family allowed me to stay with them until I graduated. My foster mother got everything I needed for my dorm and help me set it up then she gave me a few hundred dollars and left. I never saw her again. I remember mom and dad letting Russ go to Cedar Point for the weekend with friends when he graduated though. He brought me back a pink and green bear that he won from some game…"

"Bones…"

"I'm fine. I kept the bear until I graduated college, it got lost when I moved here…"

B&B

Two days later Booth was in the kitchen making a snack when Parker came inside. "Parks, I talked to Brian's parents, you can go backpacking through Europe with him next summer…"

"Thanks, dad, you're the best."

Booth chuckled a little. "You're welcome, Parker. Have fun, be careful and send us some postcards…"


	50. Chapter 50 It's a Frisbee, Not a Plate!

Parker was unpacking his stuff that'd finally arrived from England, he was happy that his dad and Brennan had moved him into the former guest room while he was away. The room was bigger than his old room and it had its own bathroom. He was on the second to last box when Hank came in and climbed on to the bed.

"What are you doing, Parker?"

"I'm unpacking my stuff from my mom's house so I have it here."

"Oh…" hank picked up a blue plastic disk from the box. "Why did you bring a plate here?"

Parker glanced at Hank "that's not a plate, that's a Frisbee. You can play Frisbee with it, I'll show you and Christine how to play later."

"K." Hank put the Frisbee back in the box and scooted up on the bed. Parker looked over at him.

"You're not going to go play?"

"No, Chrissy is playing dolls and I don't like to…"

"You can play by yourself…"

"It's more fun with Chrissy…"

Parker smiled, "for your sake I hope the new baby is a boy…" He turned the small TV in the corner to the Disney channel and went back to unpacking.

Later after making their own mini pizza bagels Parker grabbed the Frisbee and headed outside with Christine and Hank. Parker tried to show them how to play an actual game of Frisbee, but they didn't have enough players for that so he just showed them how to throw it and let them go at it. Booth walked in to the backyard sometime later.

"Hey Parks, did you get unpacked?"

"Yep. Everything fits in my closet with room to spare. Can you help me move the desk to the other corner? I don't want it by the door."

"Sure."

"Hank thought my Frisbee was a plate, so after I unpacked and we had lunch I brought them out here and showed them how to throw it. We don't have enough people to play an actual game, but they're enjoying throwing it and running after it."

"That's all that matters. Where did you learn to play Frisbee?"

"Mom's boyfriend before Garth was obsessed, he taught us both how to play. I liked it mostly because mom would play with us and not work all weekend…"

"I'm sorry you have workaholic parents, Parker."

"It's okay, dad. I missed you and I got upset when you had to cancel weekends or cut them short because you had to work, but it was cool because you were chasing bad guys and stuff. I got more upset when mom had to work because she always has to, it's like she can't stop working. When I was home to pack my stuff I did it all on my own she worked all day. My last night in town we went out for dinner Garth and I went home and binged Star Wars, mom went back to work."

"Parker…"

"It's fine, dad. I know mom loves me, but she's not the type of person who makes a good parent. What is Bones making for dinner?"

"I'm making barbequed chicken, corn on the cob and salad while Bones rests. The doctor says the baby is fine, but Bones need to rest more."

"Do you need help?"

"No, just keep Christine and Hank busy out here until I get everything ready. If they come inside Bones will get up and not rest."

"Okay."


	51. Chapter 51 Meeting Sunny

**A/N: in chapter 18 Christine asked if they could get a puppy…**

* * *

Life in the Booth household was busy, Booth and Brennan were working, and Parker was settling in and enjoying the last weeks of summer and watching Christine and Hank. When the family had returned from their vacation to Virginia Beach Booth and Brennan had talked at length about Christine's desire for a puppy, and after talking to Parker to make sure he was okay with helping take care of a puppy they decided to get her one. They had taken her and Hank to the animal shelter a few days ago just to 'look' and see what they had. Christine had fallen in love with a 4 month old yellow lab puppy and she was mad at Brennan and Booth for not letting her take the puppy home right then. Booth was on his way to get the puppy for a surprise.

"Mommy, how come daddy didn't come home with you?"

"He has some work to finish before he can come home. Why don't you and Hank go play in your rooms for a little while?"

"Okay." Christine and Hank headed for their rooms. A half hour later Booth quietly entered the house with the puppy in his arms, Brennan met him at the door.

"The children don't suspect anything."

"Good. She did well in the car, no whining."

"Good. She is cute."

"She is. Christine, Hank, come here!"

A few minutes later Christine walked into the living room and stopped as soon as she saw what Booth was holding. "Daddy?"

Booth chuckled, "come here and meet our new puppy…"

"It's ours?"

"Yes. It's the one you fell in love with at the shelter…"

"You and mommy said that we couldn't get a puppy now that we needed to talk about it more…"

"We said that because we wanted to surprise you two. We took you to the shelter so you could find the puppy you wanted and it still be a surprise. Are you surprised?"

"Yep!"

"Sit on the floor and I'll put her in your lap." Christine plopped down on the floor and Booth put the puppy in her lap. Hank sat next to Christine and reached over to pet the puppy's head. Booth smiled when he noticed Brennan taking pictures.

"What do you think, tiger?"

"She's soft!"

"Yeah, do you like her?"

"Yep!"

"Mommy, Parker, and I will help you, but both of you will have to feed, walk and play with her every day."

"Okay, daddy."

"K."

"What should her name be?"

Christine looked at the puppy for a few minutes. "Sunny, because she's yellow!"

Booth chuckled, "I like it. What do you think, Hank?" Hank nodded and kept petting Sunny. A few minutes Parker came home with pizza. "PARKER, WE GOT A PUPPY! Sunny jumped out of Christine's lap and headed for the kitchen, Booth grabbed her before she got too far and gave her to Parker.

"Christine, you can't yell like that, you scared Sunny. You have to use your inside voice."

"Sorry."

"It's okay, just don't do it anymore."

"Okay. Parker, do you like Sunny?"

"Yeah, she's cute."

"Why don't we let Parker put Sunny in the laundry room so we can eat without Sunny trying to get our pizza? Then when we're done we'll go to the store and get everything she needs."

"Okay."

"Hank, I'll help you wash your hands…"

"Okay, mommy!"

An hour later Booth took Christine and Hank to the pet store to buy all of the supplies Sunny needed. When they got back Booth smiled as he sat the bags on the kitchen floor, Sunny was snugged in Brennan's lap sleeping. "Hey Bones, we're back."

Brennan smiled at Booth, "Did you get everything?"

"Yeah, probably too much, but Christine and Hank were so excited…" Booth shrugged and started unpacking the bags.

"It's fine, Booth."

"I see you have a new friend."

"Yes, after I cleaned up from dinner and sat down she hopped up in my lap and fell asleep."

"Aww. Christine come fill Sunny's bowls and set up the dog bed while Hank opens all the toys and puts them in the basket."

"Okay, daddy."

"Parks, can you help me put the crate together?"

"Sure."

"Daddy, where's Sunny?" Christine looked around the kitchen.

"She's asleep on mommy's lap. You can play with her later."

"Oh. Okay."


	52. Chapter 52 What's Humid?

The last few weeks with Sunny had gone well, she'd chewed on a few things but it wasn't anything that couldn't be replaced. They'd fallen into a morning routine, whichever of the youngest Booth's got up first waited for Booth, Brennan, or Parker to get up and help them take her outside and then they fed her. Today Brennan was helping Christine take Sunny outside.

"Mommy, everything is wet!" Christine touched the railing.

"It's because it's so humid out…"

"What's humid?"

"It's when there is too much moisture in the air, it makes everything feel wet when it isn't."

"Oh." Christine walked down the steps and unhooked Sunny's leash from her collar and laughed as the puppy ran into the fenced in backyard.

"Mommy, it's hot out here."

"Yes, it is. I think it would be better if you and Hank played with Sunny inside today. It will be less humid tonight when the sun goes down then you can play with her outside."

"Okay." A few minutes later Brennan got Christine and Sunny inside.

After breakfast Christine and Hank were playing with Sunny on the floor when Booth came in and sat next to Brennan.

"Bones, Hodgins called to invite us to the boat show at the convention center today. Parker and I are going to go…"

"Enjoy."

"You don't want to come with us?"

"No, I have no interest in looking at boats for hours…."

"Okay. Christine, do you want to go to the boat show with Parker, Hodgins Michael Vincent and me?"

"No, I'm going to stay here with mommy."

"Okay. Do you want to go, Tiger?"

"Uh-huh…" Booth chuckled knowing Hank didn't really understand where they were going, he just wanted to go with Booth.

"Okay. Go get your shoes so I can help you put them on."

"K." Hank headed to the mat by the backdoor to get his shoes. Fifteen minutes later he and  
Booth were on their way to Hodgins' house.

A few hours later hours later Hank busted through the door with Booth walking in slowly behind him carrying bags of food.

"MOMMY!"

Brennan smiled and put down her journal and scooped Hank up into her lap and kissed the top of his head. "Did you have fun at the boat show?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's good."

Booth walked over to the couch and kissed Brennan. "Did you have a good time at the boat show, Booth?"

"Yeah. Hodgins is talking to a builder about building an accessible sailboat for him."

"That will be good for him."

"Yeah. I stopped at the deli and got those wraps we like and pasta salad. I got that cucumber salad you like too."

"Thanks, Booth. I was going to suggest we go to the diner, but the wraps and salads will be better with the humidity."

"That's what I thought. What did you and Christine do while we were gone?"

"We went to the craft store and got supplies to make wall hangings for the baby's room."

"I bet she loved that."

"Oh, yes. She was being a perfectionist…"

"Of course she was…"

"She's watching movies in our bed. I checked on her a few minutes ago, she's asleep. "

Booth smiled, "I'll go wake her up."

"Okay." Brennan sat Hank on the couch and headed for the kitchen to unpack the food and set out the raw vegetables and fruit she'd sliced earlier.


	53. Chapter 53 Going for a Swim

**A/N: for this chapter I'm cheating a little and using 3 of the remaining words in one chapter. The reason is I can't think of a way to use this idea in 3 separate chapters without messing up the flow of the story. The words are diving, swim, and swim fins. The completed story will have 66 chapters instead of 68…**

* * *

With only three weeks left of summer vacation the Booth children were getting the most out of every moment. They went to the park every day with Sunny and other places.

"Parker, can we go swimming today?"

Parker didn't look up at Brennan before answering, "No, maybe we can go this weekend with dad and Bones. I can't take both of you to the pool by myself."

"But I wanna swim today…"

"Hank, we'll all go this weekend. Finish your eggs."

"But I wanna swim!"

"Tiger, finish your breakfast while I talk to mommy."

"Okay!" Hank put a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.

Booth smiled and pulled Brennan aside. "I'm going to take the day off and take them swimming…"

"Booth…"

"I don't have anything to do today. Hank never really asks to do anything or go anywhere…. I want to spend time with the three of them."

Brennan smiled and kissed Booth's cheek. "Enjoy our day. I'll get their towels…."

"Okay." Booth went back to the kitchen, "Hank, we're going swimming while mommy goes to work."

"Okay! Parker, we're going swimming!"

"I heard! I'm excited."

"Me too. Mommy, I'm done with my eggs!"

"Okay. Go wash your hands and put your swim trunks on."

"K." Hank slid off his chair and started down the hall.

Parker looked at Booth and chuckled softly.

"What?"

"Remember when Bones gave us the key to her pool?"

"Yeah…"

"I bugged mom so much to let me go swimming with you and Bones."

"I'm surprised she let you go as much as she did…."

"Yeah, I was too, but I loved it…"

"I did too and so did Bones. I still have your swim fins in the garage. I should get them out for Hank."

"He'd love them, they'd go perfect with his goggles."

"They would. We have to send Bones a picture."

"Yeah."

"You don't have to come with us…"

"I'll come, I can hang out with Christine while you help Hank."

"Okay. When we're done we'll go have lunch with Bones."

"Cool. I was going to do that anyway, I like having lunch with her."

"You always did, you'd only eat broccoli when she made it or made you order it at the diner."

"Bones' broccoli is amazing…"

B&B

An hour later the kids were standing on the edge of the pool with Hank in goggles and swim fins waiting for Booth to take their picture and send it to Brennan. With that done Booth helped Hank in the pool and begin to float around the kiddie pool. Parker was helping Christine learn to use the diving board in the shallow end. After about an hour in the kiddie pool Hank and Booth joined Parker and Christine in the shallow end.

"Do you want to try the diving board, Hank?"

"No!"

"Okay."

"Chrissy, will you race me?"

"Sure. Ready?" Hank nodded.

Booth started to count"…1…2…GO!" the kids took off and a little more than half way to the other end of the pool Christine stopped swimming, letting Hank win. The three year old touched the end of the pool and smiled when he realized Christine was trailing behind him. "Daddy, I won!"

"I see, buddy. Good job!" Hank grinned.

Everybody swam for a while longer before they got out and got ready to go have lunch with Brennan.


	54. Chapter 54 Pictures in a Sunflower Field

**A/N: I'm back :)~**

* * *

Brennan and Angela where having lunch at the diner "do you have any plans for the weekend, Bren?"

"We promised Christine and Hank we'd take them swimming Saturday. Michael Vincent can come with us if he'd like."

"Thanks for the offer Bren, we'll have to take you up on your offer another day. We're getting our updated family photo taken then."

"That sounds nice."

"Yeah, we haven't gotten one taken since the accident. Hodgins didn't want to do it, but he's going to sit on a bench so the wheelchair won't be in the pictures."

"We've never had a family picture done…"

"You should do it now that Parker is here. I can do it next weekend, theirs a sunflower field about an hour and a half from here that would be perfect. Then in a year or so we can go back and do an updated photo with baby Booth in your arms."

"His name is Max Joseph…"

"Aww another little boy!"

"Yes, Booth is very happy. I am too, Hank is much easier than Christine was as an infant and toddler…"

"Katie is a lot easier than Michael Vincent was. She sleeps at night he didn't…"

"I'll talk to Booth about getting the picture done and let you know."

"Okay, Bren."

That night after tucking Hank in Brennan sat next to Booth on the couch, he immediately placed his hand on her stomach. "How's the little guy?"

"He's extremely active tonight. Hank fell asleep with his hand on my stomach, he's been doing that when I sit next to him and read his bedtime story."

"Aww I think he's coming around to becoming a big brother."

"Yes. I think Parker taking him out for ice cream and telling him how fun being a big brother is helped."

"Yeah…"

"Angela and Hodgins are getting their family photo taken on Saturday. She offered to take ours next weekend if we want."

"That sounds nice, Grams used to make us take one every year after Jared and I moved in with her and Pops. The only other family photo I have is the one Becca and I took for the church directory when Parker was four months old… it's in a box in the top of our bedroom closet."

"Angela said we can go back next year once Max is here and take an updated photo."

"That will be nice. We should do one every year as a record of how much the kids grow."

"We will."

B&B

The next weekend the Booth family, including Sunny drove the hour and a half to The Sunflower Gardens in Westminster, Maryland for their family photo shoot. Booth, Parker, and Hank wore white button down shirts and jeans. Christine wore a white ¾ sleeve shirt and jean shorts. Brennan was dressed in a flowing white sundress. When they arrived Angela took a half a dozen shots of the family in various orders and poses in the sunflower field. Then she took that many shots of the kids together. Next was individual kid pictures followed by pictures of the kids with just Booth then she did some with just Brennan and the kids. The final pictures were of Booth and Brennan together. Angela snapped a few pictures of Sunny with sunflowers stuck in her collar. At the end of the 2 and a half hour shoot Hank was curled in to Brennan's side with his hand over his baby brother. Angela quietly snapped the picture. Christine was hanging off Parker's back like a monkey. Booth lifted Christine off of Parker's back and held her to him. "Daddy, I wanna go home…"

"We will soon. We'll stop at the diner on the way home…"

"Can't we just go home and have Mickey Mouse pancakes?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

B&B

They left the sunflower garden a short time later after Brennan bought a few bouquets of sunflowers. By the time Booth pulled in the driveway, two and a half hours later everyone was asleep.

* * *

**A/N2: The Sunflower Gardens in Westminster, Maryland is a real farm where you can take pictures and pick your own sunflowers or buy their bouquets **


	55. Chapter 55 Canoeing Mishap

It was Saturday afternoon, Booth was working on his car, Brennan was working on her book, Christine was reading, Hank was playing with his toys. Parker was canoeing with Brian and his parents. Booth quickly walked into Brennan's office. "Bones, Parker was in a canoeing accident. He wasn't seriously injured, I'm going to the hospital."

"I'm coming with you..." Brennan started saving her file and shutting down her computer.

"Bones, you need to stay here with Christine and Hank..."

"I can call Angela..."

"No, everyone is sick in their house... Aubrey is at the Star Wars convention. Stay home, I'll call you as soon as I find out anything. The nurse said it wasn't life-threatening..."

"Was Brian...?"

"I don't know. I'm assuming so since Sheri didn't call me herself... Parker will be fine, Bones." Booth kissed Brennan and quickly left the house. Brennan finished shutting down her computer then she sent Angela a text telling her what happened.

B&B

It was over an hour before Booth called. "How is Parker, Booth?"

"He's okay. He has a concussion, scraps cuts and bruises. They're X-raying his shoulder now and doing a CT scan to makes sure he doesn't have something else going on in his head. We should be home in a few hours. Brian is beat up about the same. His concussion is worse though, he's staying overnight. They hit a rough current and the canoe flipped onto a bunch of rocks..."

"Are you sure Parker is okay?"

"Yes. He was sitting up talking to the doctor when I got here. Bones, relax and breathe..."

"I am breathing, Booth!"

Booth laughed. "Love you, Bones."

"Love you too, Booth."

"I gotta go, they just wheeled Parks back to his cubicle."

"Okay."

B&B

Booth pocketed his phone and went back to Parker, "How are you feeling, Bub?"

"Like I got hit by a truck

Booth chuckled a little, "don't say that to Bones unless you want a lecture. How are you really feeling?"

"Okay I guess. I'm sore and my shoulder hurts, but the nurse just gave me pain meds. I'm sorry, dad…"

"You don't need to apologize, it was an accident."

"We were having so much fun then the current changed and we were in the water… we couldn't get back in the canoe the water was moving too fast plus Brian wasn't doing so hot…"

"I know. I'm just glad you weren't heart worse… Brian is okay, he's got a severe concussion he'll be here at least overnight."

"That's good, not that he's got the concussion, but that he'll be okay. Mom is gonna kill me…"

"I'll call her and tell her. Bones is going to smother you when we get home. She'll look at your x-rays, don't be freaked out if she finds something the doctor missed, it's one of her weird 'talents.'"

"Okay. I wanna go home…"

"Soon bub…"

B&B

Christine walked into the living room, Hank followed behind. "Mommy, I'm hungry…"

"Me too…"

Brennan smiled a little and patted the couch next to her and waited for them to climb up beside her.

"Daddy and I were going to take you to the diner tonight, but a little while ago daddy got a phone call that Parker had an accident when he was canoeing. He's going to be fine, he only has cuts, scrapes and bruises. Daddy is at the hospital with him, they should be home in a few hours. How about I make you grilled cheese for dinner?"

"Okay. Is Parker okay?"

"Yes, he'll probably be sore for a few days and he won't be able to stay with you while daddy and I work. I'll stay home with all of you."

"Okay. Will they be home soon?"

"They should be. You can take your baths and get your pajamas on after you eat. That way you can stay up until they get home."

"Okay."

"I want peanut butter and jelly…"

"You can have peanut butter and jelly, Hank."

"Yay!" Brennan smiled a little and kissed the tops of both their heads before getting up and making their sandwiches and her salad.

B&B

The doctor pushed the curtain aside and entered Parker's cube, "Parker, the good news is your concussion is mild. Bad news is your shoulder is severely sprained. You'll be in a shoulder immobilizer for six to eight weeks…"

"There goes senior year… good thing I don't play sports anymore…"

"…You need to ice it for 20 minutes every four hours. You'll need to follow up with your doctor in two weeks. I'll have a nurse come in and get you in the immobilizer and give you your discharge instructions."

"Thanks doc." The doctor nodded at Booth and left the cubicle. An hour later they were on their way home.

B&B

Christine and Hank had just finished their baths when Booth and Parker came home. "PARKER!" Christine and Hank ran for him, Booth stepped in front of them. "Easy, you can't tackle Parker for a few months. Let him get comfy on the couch then you can go so sit next to him."

"Okay."

Parker slowly made his way to the couch and carefully lowered himself to the cushions. He let out a breath then nodded at Booth, who let Christine and Hank climb up on the couch. "Don't bump Parker's arm."

"Are you okay, Parker?"

"I will be in a few months."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not much…"

"How'd you do it?"

"Mine and Brian's canoe tipped over and I sprained my shoulder and hit my head…" Christine started to cry.

"Hey, hey don't cry! I'm gonna be fine. I can't stay home by myself with you guys for a couple days and I won't be able to drive for a while. We can still watch movies and play outside and stuff…"

"Okay…"

"Parker, can you read a story?"

"Not tonight. Let dad read it…"

"Okay." Booth walked over to the couch and picked up Hank and sat down in his spot next to Parker and began the story. Thirty minutes later he was tucking Christine and Hank in.

"Parker, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Bones. I have a mild concussion, my shoulder is severely sprained and I have cuts and bruises. I'm sore too. The doctor gave me a prescription for pain meds. Dad got it on our way home. He also got my x-rays because he said you'd want to look at them in case the doctor missed something."

"I'm glad you weren't more injured, Parker."

"Me too. There were a few times I thought I wouldn't make it out of the river. The current was really strong and we were really far from shore. I had to basically drag Brian with me and for a skinny dude he's heavy. The doctor thinks dragging him is how I sprained my shoulder…" Brennan kissed the top of his head and went to the kitchen.

"I made you a packet of that noodle soup you like if you want it."

"Yeah, thanks, Bones." Brennan poured some of the soup in a mug and brought it over to Parker who started sipping it.

Brennan went over to the counter and picked up the envelope with Parker's x-rays, she was holding them up to the light when Booth walked in. "did the doctor miss anything, Bones?"

"Yes, there's a small hairline fracture in the scapula. See?" Brennan pointed to the fracture as Booth leaned over her shoulder.

"How can you see that?"

"I squinted…"

Booth laughed, "That's good, Bones. Is Parker going to be okay?"

"Yes, the prescribed treatment should be fine, but I'm making him an appointment with your orthopedic doctor tomorrow to be sure. I can take him unless you'd prefer…"

"No, you can take him." Booth kissed Brennan and walked over to the couch and sat next to Parker. "How are you feeling, Parks?"

"I'm getting tired and my shoulder is starting to hurt…"

"You want me to help you get ready for bed? You have to stay awake all night, but you'll be more comfortable in bed."

"That's okay. Can you help me take a shower? I still smell like the river…"

"Of course. Let's go."

B&B

Forty minutes later Booth was filling one of Hank's spill proof cups with ice and water.

"Did you get Parker showered?"

"Yeah, he's bruised up pretty good. I'm surprised his ribs aren't broken. We're gonna watch all the Star Wars movies all night."

"I'll stay up with him…"

"You and Max need to rest, Bones."

"I can rest while I'm staying up with him, Booth…"

"Fine, we'll take shifts. I'll come get you in three hours. He'll need these." Booth handed Brennan the cup of water and bottle of pain medication.

"Okay."

An hour later Booth's phone beeped with a text: Bones is asleep come get her

Booth carefully picked Brennan up, she stirred, "Booth?"

"Shh go back to sleep."

"Parker…"

"You can stay up with him later."

"Hum…" Booth kissed Brennan's forehead and headed to their room. A few minutes later Booth was back in Parker's room rewinding the movie.

"You're not going to let Bones stay up with me are you?"

"Not a chance, she needs to rest." Parker chuckled and turned his attention back to the movie.

B&B

The next afternoon Brennan dropped Christine off at her friend Emma's and Hank at his friend Colton's house. Then she and Parker went to Booth's orthopedist.

"it's good to see you again, Temperance."

"You too, Dr. Warner."

"How are you, Parker?"

"I'm okay I guess. My shoulder huts a little more today…"

"Lets get an x-ray and see if it's changed from yesterday."

"Okay."

Fifteen minutes later Parker was back in the exam room with Brennan. Dr. warner came in a few minutes later.

"The x-ray hasn't changed from yesterday, you have a hairline fracture in your scapula. You may also have a torn muscle. I've scheduled an MRI for next Tuesday. In the meantime keep up with icing it and wearing the immobilizer. If the pain increases before Tuesday don't hesitate to come see me."

"Okay. Thanks, doc."

"Thank you, Doctor Warner."

"You're welcome, Temperance. Give Seeley my best."

"I will."

As Parker and Brennan were getting in her car, he turned to her. "Do we have to get Christine and Hank now ?"

"No, Christine is spending the night at Emma's and your dad is getting Hank on his way home, why?"

"Can we go get tacos for lunch?"

"Sure. Your dad is going to be jealous."

"We'll bring him chips and salsa and maybe cheese dip back…" Brennan laughed and headed for their favorite Mexican restaurant.


	56. Chapter 56 The Fan in Limbo

Booth walked through the doors of the lab and immediately made a face and loosened his tie, "Cam, it's like an oven in here!"

"I know. The AC went out in our wing. Maintenance is working on it, they say it's a minor repair and they'll have it fixed in a few hours. We'll see. Brennan is in limbo, I was on my way to take her one of the fans the admin department sent us…"

"I'll do it. I came to get the paperwork on our last case…"

"…And check on Brennan?"

"Well, yeah…I mean the doctor said she needs to rest more…"

"She is. She's staying here more and letting the interns help more."

"I know, I just don't want anything to happen to her or the baby …"

"I know. I can't promise that nothing will, but I'm doing my best to lighten her work load when and where I can…"

"I know… thank you for that…"

"You're welcome."

"I'll take her the fan…"

"I thought so…" Cam smiled and handed Booth the fan. Booth went to Brennan's office and grabbed her insulated water bottle and one of the granola bars she kept in her desk for when the kids visited. He stopped at the lounge filled up her water bottle and grabbed the fan a headed to limbo. Booth sat the water bottle and granola bar on the small desk in the corner then he plugged in the fan, placing it where it wouldn't disturb the remains Brennan was working on, but she could still feel it.

"Thank you, Booth…"

"You're welcome, Bones. How'd you know it was me?"

"Because you walk very quietly, if Cam or Angela brought the fan I'd heard their shoes. Do we have a case?"

"No, I just came for the paperwork on our last one. I also bought you water and a granola bar."

'Thanks. The paperwork is in my inbox, I was going to send it over by courier this afternoon."

"I needed a break after the long meeting with Starke."

"You also wanted to check on me …."

"Kinda, I mean … I am a little more worried this time… "

Brennan put down the skull she was examine and looked at Booth. "Booth, Max and I are fine. If we weren't you'd be my first phone call… I'm worried too you know…"

"I know. I'll see you at 12:30 for lunch?"

"Yes, can you order a salad for me? Hold the meat, cheese and boiled eggs. Italian dressing on the side. Also I want cucumber and tomato salad and a brownie."

"Sure. Lemonade?"

"Yes." Booth walked over to Brennan and kissed her cheek before going upstairs.

B&B

A few hours later Brennan sat down across from Booth just as the waitress was setting their lunches on table. "Perfect timing, Bones."

"Thanks for ordering for me, Booth."

"You're welcome, Bones. Did they get the AC fixed?"

"No, it's a more complicated repair than they thought… I guess I'll do paperwork in limbo for the rest of the afternoon. It's a little cooler down there."

"…or you could get your paperwork and whatever else you need and come do your paperwork in my office..."

Brennan smiled, "I might…" She picked up the small bowl of cucumber and tomato salad and dumped it on her salad and dug in.

When Booth got back to his office he cleared off the small table in the corner and made sure the light worked in case Brennan came over. Thirty minutes later Brennan stood in Booth's office doorway, Booth looked up and grinned. "Come in, Bones. You can use the table in the corner or you can have my desk and I'll take the table."

"The table is fine, Booth. Thanks for letting me work here this afternoon. I didn't really want to take all my paperwork to limbo."

"You're welcome, Bones. I'm glad you decided to work here this afternoon…"

"We're fine, Booth…"

"I know… I just miss you when we don't have a case…"

"I miss you too, Booth…" they worked in silence for the next few hours.

"You ready to go home, Bones?"

"Yes, can we stop by the lab so I can drop off this stuff? I got everything done so I don't need to take any of it home."

"Sure."

"Let's get pizza for dinner and then take Christine and Hank to the Disney move in the park. I'm sure Parker would enjoy the evening free of his siblings…"

"Sounds good to me, Bones. We'll have to stop for snacks on the way though."

"I got popcorn, pretzels, and those cheese flavored crackers Hank likes and six kinds of candy plus chips and salsa for Parker and his favorite candy at the store yesterday…"

"Alright. Let's go, Bones!" Brennan laughed and finished putting her files and laptop in her bag before she followed Booth to the elevator.


	57. Chapter 57 Muggy Recovery

"Christine, go away and leave me alone!" Parker pushed Christine back, Booth reached a hand out to steady her.

"Christine, take Sunny inside and fill her water bowl, put a couple ice cubes in it. You and Hank can each give her a mini dog biscuit."

"But…"

"You can see Parker later."

"Okay." Booth watched Christine, Hank, and Sunny head inside before he turned his attention to Parker. "What's wrong, bub?"

"Nothing…"

"Parker…"

"I'm tired of being in the house so I came out here, but it's so muggy. the immobilizer thing is hot and they made the straps tighter than you do. The tape they put on my bandage pulls even though I can't move my arm. I'm mad that I have to spend the last week of vacation recovering from shoulder surgery and a good part of senior year doing PT. I wanna take a SHOWER! I wanna drive somewhere!"

"Parker, I know it sucks, but I'm thankful you weren't hurt worse and were able to do outpatient surgery. If you go to your room and sit on your bed and swear to me you won't move a muscle I'll take the immobilizer off for a few minutes. You'll have to wait for tomorrow to shower though."

"Okay." Booth followed Parker inside. Parker laid back on his bed and Booth undid the straps, Parker sighed.

"Feel better?"

"You have no idea."

Booth laughed, "It's not swollen. Does it hurt?"

"Not any more than it did before they did surgery yesterday."

"That's good." All too soon Booth put the immobilizer back on Parker's shoulder leaving the straps a bit loose. He turned on the ceiling fan and left Parker on his bed. A few minutes later Brennan popped her head in. "Parker, I can change the bandage now and use less tape."

"Okay." Brennan walked over to Parker's bed and sat down then she took his temperature satisfied that he didn't have a fever she carefully took off the immobilizer and put on a pair of gloves.

"Those haven't been around dead people have they?"

Brennan laughed, "No, these aren't the brand we use at the lab…"

"Okay."

Brennan carefully pulled off the tape. "Everything looks good. Pulling the tape off caused the skin around your wound to become a little pink. You shouldn't have a very big scar."

"Good."

Brennan carefully changed the bandage and put him back in the immobilizer. "I'm done. Are you still hot?"

"No."

"Good. Why don't you take your pain medication now and take a nap?"

"Okay." Brennan got up from the bed and went to Parker's bathroom, coming back with his medication and glass of water. Once Parker took his medication Brennan sat beside him again and started rubbing his back. "Bones, do you think dad would drive so I could have an ice cream date with Christine and Hank? To make up for being a lousy brother for the last week…"

"Parker, you have not been a lousy brother. You were in an accident and are recovering from your injuries Christine and Hank understand that."

"Still I need to make up for yelling at Christine earlier…"

"You are an excellent big brother, Parker. Your dad would be happy to drive you so you can have an ice cream date with Christine and Hank."

"Thanks, Bones."

Brennan sat and rubbed Parker's back a few more minutes until he was sound asleep, then she kissed his cheek before getting up and leaving the room.

Brennan walked into the kitchen. "Is Parker okay, Bones?"

"Yes, his wound looks great, the scarring should be minimal. The tape that was applied to the bandage after the surgery was tight, it left marks on his skin. I used less tape and didn't apply it so tightly. He should be more comfortable now. I convinced him to take his pain medication and a nap, he's asleep. I rubbed his back until he fell asleep like I do when Christine and Hank don't feel well."

Booth smiled a little, "A nap will be good for him."

"Yes. He wants to know if you'll drive so he can take Christine and Hank on an ice cream date later. He wants to make up for yelling at Christine earlier."

"Of course I'll take him. He doesn't really have to make it up to them, but I understand why he wants to. It will be good for them all to get out of the house for a while too."

B&B

A few hours later Parker walked to Christine's room. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you for a minute…"

"I guess..." Parker couldn't help grinning a little as he walked in the room and sat on the bed.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier…."

"Daddy said you yelled at me because you were mad that you hurt your shoulder and had to have surgery yesterday. And because you didn't feel good. Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, dad and Bones worked their magic and I feel a lot better than I did this morning."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Do you want to go on an ice cream date with me and Hank? Dad is going to drive us. When we get back we can play a game or something."

"Yeah!"

"Come here." Christine walked to Parker, he gave her a one arm hug.

"Love you, Parker."

"Love you too, Christine. Get your shoes on so we can go. I want ice cream!"

Ten minutes later Booth was heading towards the ice cream shop.


	58. Chapter 58 Summer Tan

Summer was winding down, Christine and Parker started school in four days and Hank was moving into the last age group at daycare. Parker was recovering well, Brian had picked him up earlier to hang out for the day. Christine and Hank were having one last sleepover at Angela and Hodgins' house. Brennan was sitting on the back deck working through a sticky plot point. Booth was mowing the grass.

Brennan looked up when a shadow passed over her keyboard, Booth was standing over her grinning. Sometime in the course of mowing the lawn he'd ditched his t-shirt. "Booth!" Brennan quickly looked over Booth, his tan that he got in Virginia Beach was deepening…

"Yeah. How the book coming? Kathy and Andy make up yet?"

"Um…um…yeah…the book is coming along… um Kathy and Andy are…good…"

"That's good. What's wrong, Bones? You seem distracted…"

"Yes. Nothing is wrong Booth…um…I'm finding your deepening tan very attractive…"

Booth smirked, "you are?"

"Yes…" Brennan put her laptop aside and pulled Booth to her, kissing him deeply. After a few seconds Booth started to pull back, Brennan kept pulling him toward her.

"Bones, the kids?"

"Sleepover at Angela's…"

"Parks?"

"Brian's until after dinner…" Brennan started kissing Booth again…

"Let me take a shower first…"

"Later…we have more important things to do…"

Booth chuckled, "can we at least go inside?"

Brennan grunted and stood up pulling Booth toward the door.

"Slow down, Bones, you're gonna dislocate my shoulder…" Brennan laughed as the door shut behind them.

"BONES!"


	59. Chapter 59 End of Summer Cookout

It was the second to last day of summer vacation and Booth and Brennan were hosting a cookout for the squints and their families. Booth was grilling hotdogs and hamburgers. Brennan was making potato salad, baked beans, macaroni salad and deviled eggs. They were also having corn on the cob, a vegetable tray along with a fruit tray. Brennan made macaroni and cheese for the kids. Booth had made a small pot of chili in case anyone wanted a chilidog. They also had an assortment of chips and dips Booth had gotten all types of lawn games for everyone to play everyone was having a good time. Christine and Michael Vincent were chasing Hank, Katie and baby Lance around the yard. Parker was playing corn hole with Cam and Arastoo's boys. Brennan was uncovering containers when Daisy walked up.

"Thanks for inviting us, Dr. Brennan."

"You're welcome, Daisy. Booth and I are glad you could come. Lance has grown so much since the last time we saw him."

"He has. He starts preschool in two weeks, I don't know if I'm ready for that…

"I thought I was ready for Christine to go, but on her first day Booth took her inside while I waited in the SUV trying not to be emotional. I broke down when he got back in and told me she didn't even look back once he helped her out of her jacket and hung up her backpack. I am not ready for Hank to go to preschool, I'd like to keep him with me for a while longer. He's going to have a hard time adjusting to the new baby."

"It's so wonderful that you and agent Booth are having another baby…"

"Yes, Booth and I are extremely happy. We were also slightly surprised."

"I think Lance will be an only child…."

"Sweets would want you to be happy, Daisy."

"I know. I've dated… none of them understand me the way Lance did…"

"I understand. I feel the same way about Booth. I can't imagine being in a relationship or married to anyone else. He embraces my oddities."

"So did Lance. I miss him so much."

"We all miss him…"

"I wonder what kind of father he'd be."

"Sweets would have been an excellent father, he was great with Christine when he lived with us when she was a toddler. I think he was her favorite person. When Booth was in jail, Sweets was the only one who could comfort her for the first few days. He built a blanket fort in dad's living room and sat in it with her for hours. She would only eat peanut butter and jelly with the crust off. We had to put it on a plate and put it under the edge and walked away."

"I remember that he'd text me when she fell asleep… he looked forward to his time with her."

"Christine looked forward to her time with him too."

"I can take her to the paddle boats next time Lance and I go… to make up for that day…"

"She'd like that…"

B&B

"Mommy, I'm hungry…"

"Go ask daddy when the food will be ready."

"Okay." Hank headed for Booth a few minutes later he was back at Brennan's side. "Daddy says the food will be done in five minutes."

"Okay."

"Can I have cheese and ketchup on my hotdog?"

"Yes. Do you want a bun?"

"No."

"Okay."

Christine walked up with her arms crossed. "What's wrong, Christine?"

"Parker won't let me play …"

"They're in the middle of a game. You can play later, dinner is almost ready anyway. Can you go in the kitchen and get the three bags on the counter and bring them to me?"

"Okay." Christine headed inside and came back a few minutes later with the bags and handed them to Brennan. "Thank you." Christine nodded and grabbed a chip from the bowl Brennan had just filled. "Get a plate and start filling it. The hotdogs and hamburgers should be ready any moment." Booth walked up then and put the plates of hotdogs and hamburgers on the table. Brennan, Angela, and Daisy filled plates for the little kids. Brennan cut Hank's hotdog in bite size pieces and covered it with cheese and put a puddle of ketchup on the side of the plate for him to dip the hotdog into. She and Daisy got everyone settled at the small plastic kids' picnic table that Booth placed on the corner under a large patio umbrella. Angela carried Katie and her food over to Hodgins and sat the toddler in his lap. "Hold her while I get your plate."

"Okay."

Once Booth had helped Parker get his food he turned to face everyone else. "Food's on! Aubrey, back of the line!"

"Booth!"

"What? I made extra, but not that much extra…"

"All right…"

Everyone got their food and sat down to eat .

B&B

Once what little food that was left was taken inside Booth brought three laundry baskets full of water balloons. Before everyone started going crazy Booth designated the deck as the 'safe zone', anyone up there could not get wet. Then he and Aubrey took the cushions out of Hodgins' chair so they wouldn't get wet. Once Brennan and Katie retreated to the safe zone, Booth nailed Christine with a water balloon and mayhem ensued. Brennan sat with Katie and took pictures of everybody having fun. After a little while Booth came up on the deck. "Bones, come down and play with everybody for a while…"

"Somebody needs to stay with Katie…"

"We can put a towel or two in her stroller and give her a balloon, she'll love it. Come on  
Bones, Hank and Christine will love getting you wet."

Brennan smiled a little, "All right…"

Booth grinned and grabbed a few towels and lined the seat of the stroller with them and sat Katie down and strapped her in. He parked her close to Angela, then he gave her a pink water balloon. Then Booth picked up Hank and helped him sneak up on Brennan so he could get her wet. When the water balloon it Brennan squealed and turned around and smiled at Hank.

"Mommy, I got you!" Hank giggled.

"Yes, you did!" Brennan picked up a water balloon and slowly took off toward Booth and Hank. "I'm going to get you both!"

"Oh no you're not, Bones!" Booth put Hank on his shoulders and started running. After a few minutes Booth stopped and let Brennan catch up to them and hit them with the water balloon. Once it hit them Hank gasped and started laughing. Booth put Hank on the ground and walked away. The next thing he knew he got hit with three water balloons, Booth looked back to see Brennan holding Hank, Parker and Christine standing next to them. "We got you, daddy!"

"Oh it's on now!" Booth took off.

B&B

A little while later they were out of water balloons and everyone was inside changing while Booth started a fire in the fire pit to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. Brennan was the first one outside, she walked over to Booth, and he pulled her close. "Booth stop! You're getting my shirt wet again!"

"You mean I'm getting MY shirt wet?"

Brennan looked down at the FBI t-shirt she was wearing "it was the closest thing that fits. Plus they're comfortable."

"You look good in my shirt, Bones…."

"Thanks. Do you think everyone is having a good time?"

"I think everyone is having a great time, Bones. Are you?"

"Yes, the cookout is a good way to end summer…"


	60. Chapter 60 The Best Summer Ever

It was the night before the first day of school. The day had been spent doing whatever Christine and Parker wanted, that meant they stayed home and watched movies all day and had macaroni and cheese for dinner. After dinner Christine spent a while going through her school supplies making sure she had everything she needed and it was correctly labeled and organized. Now Brennan was tucking her in.

"Mommy, this was the best summer EVER!"

"Why was this summer the best summer ever?"

"Because we got a puppy and because Parker came home. My favorite part was when we went on vacation and we got to spend a lot of time with you and daddy. You work a lot, we don't get to spend a lot of time with you when you have to go to work all the time…"

Brennan smiled and kissed Christine 's forehead. "This was my best summer too."

"It was, why?"

"Because we went on vacation and I got to spend a lot of time with you, daddy and your brothers. It was also a good summer because Parker moved home. Also because we found out we'll have baby in the spring. Are you happy about having a new brother?"

"Uh-huh." Christine yawned.

"Go to sleep you have to get up early for school in the morning."

"K. can you ask daddy to make Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast?"

"Yes. I love you."

"I love you too, mommy."

B&B

Brennan sat next to Booth on the couch, he put his arm around her. "Christine go to sleep?"

"Yes. She'd like you to make Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast."

"I can do that. Bones, what's wrong?"

"Christine said this was the best summer ever. When I asked why she had a whole list of reasons, like Parker moving home and getting Sunny. The best part of her summer was getting to spend a lot of time with us because we work a lot. When we work she doesn't get to spend a lot of time with us…"

"Ouch…"

"Yes. My maternity leave will be up at the beginning of May. I was thinking of taking twelve weeks off this time to spend time with all of them. I have a lot of vacation dates I can use too…"

"Bones, that's a great idea. I can take extended time too, I was planning on taking two weeks off when you have the baby anyway. Maybe we can take a short vacation together before Parker goes off to college."

"That will be nice." Booth pulled Brennan to him and kissed her. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth."


	61. First Solo Voyage

Parker was officially recovered from his severe shoulder sprain and subsequent surgery. He'd been released from therapy for four days and finally able to drive himself. Doctor Warner had cleared him to drive at his two week post op-appointment, but Brennan had made him wait until he was released from therapy. Parker was getting in his car at Brian's house when the phone rang.

"Hey dad. I'm getting in my car…"

"Good, Bones is craving spicy tofu and veggies. If I call in an order to Mandarin House will you get it on your way home?"

"If you get me orange chicken…"

"Anything else?"

"Some spring rolls and fortune cookies."

"Okay. Hang on a second…" after a minute Booth came back on the phone. "Bones wants to know if you'll run by the store and get her celery, broccoli, carrots, horseradish sauce, dark chocolate and cran-pineapple juice. She also wants you to know she'll reimburse you."

Parker chuckled, "sure… I'll call you when I get done at the store so you can call in the Chinese."

"Okay."

B&B

An hour and a half later Parker walked in the kitchen. "Thanks for going to the store, Parker."

"You're welcome, Bones. I was able to get everything."

"That's good. How was your first solo voyage driving in two and a half months?" Brennan started unpacking the food.

"It was fine, it was a little weird at first, but I loved it. It was nice to go to Bryan's and hang out without him picking me up or you or dad dropping me off."

"We didn't mind doing that, Parks."

"I know. It was just nice to go myself." Parker put everything he got for Brennan in the refrigerator.

"I understand. How is your shoulder?"

"Fine. It didn't hurt when I was driving or at Bryan's house."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Can I take Christine and Hank on an ice cream date tonight after dinner?"

"Yes, they'll enjoy that."

"What flavor do you want us to bring you back?"

"Coconut…And…Mint chocolate chip…"

"…And I'll take butter pecan…."

"You got it..."

Brennan handed Parker a fifty dollar bill. "Bones, this is too much…"

"Take it…"

"Bones…"

Booth walked over to Parker and shook his head. "Food's getting cold, let's eat!" Booth took plates and silverware to the table. Then he helped Hank into his booster seat.


	62. Chapter 62 Babymoon on the Seashore

It had been a long day for Booth and Brennan, their case was at a dead end. Christine and Hank had been in bad moods and nothing Booth or Brennan did could pull them out of them. Now they were in bed, Parker was in Booth's man cave. Brennan was sitting on the couch with a glass of cran pineapple juice petting Sunny. Booth came and sat down next to her. "Hank finally settled down, I had to read him two books and check the closet and under his bed. Christine didn't want me to read to her tonight, I just sat there until she fell asleep."

"Hopefully they'll wake up in better moods, I've never seen them so…"

"Crabby?"

"Yes, I was looking for a nicer term, but that's sufficient."

"The only time Parker was anything close to how crabby they are was when Becca took him to Florida for all of Christmas break when he was five. She told him he couldn't spend Christmas with me. Thankfully her parents kinda liked me and flew me down after Christmas. We all went to Disney World, it was the best vacation…Speaking of we should take a babymoon before it gets too cold."

"We didn't go on one before Christine or Hank were born."

"I'd planned on taking you on one before Hank was born, but then I screwed up…"

"Booth…"

"If you could go anywhere within driving distance where would you go?"

Brennan started scratching Sunny's ears.

"Where, Bones?"

"I'd like to go to the Virginia Beach seashore and walk the beach and drink coffee. Maybe read a little…"

"We can do that, Bones. When do you want to go?"

"The children have fall break for four days in two weeks. If Angela and Hodgins can watch them we can go then."

"Let's ask Parker if he'd want to watch them. It would be a fun vacation for them."

"Okay."

"I'll find a hotel and stuff."

"Okay."

A few days later after talking to Parker and learning he was more than happy to stay with Christine and Hank, Booth booked a suite that overlooked the ocean?

B&B

Two weeks later Booth picked up Brennan from the lab to head to Virginia Beach. "Are you happy to be going on vacation, Bones?"

"A little. I will admit I'm looking forward to walking on the beach, it was so peaceful last time…"

Booth smiled, "It was relaxing, coffee never tasted so good."

"I hope Parker is okay watching Christine and Hank for four days."

"They'll be fine Bones. Angela and Aubrey are on standby in case he needs help. You made them a big pan of macaroni and cheese. You got them foods they love to eat that you don't really approve of. Plus Parker has money for takeout. We'll call a couple time a day. Christine and Hank are excited. This vacation is going to be good for everyone."

"I know. Christine is looking forward to it. Hank is too, but not as much as she is."

"Yeah, Christine was practically bouncing when I dropped her off at school. "

Brennan smiled a little and relaxed against the seat and watched the traffic pass by.

B&B

Three hours later Booth pulled into the hotel parking lot and reached over to wake Brennan. "Bones, we're here…" Booth kissed her.

"Booth?"

"Yeah..."

"Sorry I fell asleep."

"It's okay. You and Max need your sleep."

Brennan looked around at the hotel. "The hotel looks nice."

"Yeah, it'll look nicer in daylight. Our room has a balcony. We're not too far from where we stayed this summer. Let's get you inside so you can go back to sleep."

"I'd like to check on the children first, oh and I want ice cream…"

Booth chuckled and kissed Brennan's cheek. "Christine and Hank are probably asleep, but we can call Parks. The lobby has a small store in it, go get your ice cream and whatever else you want while I check in."

"Okay. " Brennan grabbed her bag and got out of the SUV. She waited for Booth to get their bags and they headed into the hotel together. Once they got to their room Booth put their bags down. "This is really nice room, Bones. "

"It is." Brennan headed for the balcony. "Booth, it's beautiful here."

'Yep." Booth sat down in the chair next to Brennan, she handed him a pint of chocolate ice cream and a small wooden spoon. "You got me ice cream?"

"Yes, I thought you'd like it."

"I do, thanks."

"You're welcome." Brennan ate for a few minutes. "I'm going to call Parker." Brennan pulled out her phone and facetimed Parker. "Hey, Bones."

"Hello, Parker. Why are you whispering?"

"Because we built a fort and we've decided to sleep in it. Hank is leaning against me asleep."

Hank stirred, "Parker?"

"Hey Hank, say hi to mommy…" Parker moved the phone so Hank's face came on Brennan's screen.

"Hi sweetheart."

"Hi mommy…"

"Are you having fun?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Go back to sleep, sweetheart."

"K." As soon as Hank settled down and fell back asleep, Parker climbed out of the fort.

"How is everything?"

"Fine. They asked what Christine's birthday was before I could pick her up from school. Hank tackled me when I got him from daycare."

"That's his new thing, I think he's bored and really happy to be picked up."

"Yeah. Thanks for the mac and cheese, it was good. We had green beans with it."

"You're welcome."

"I'd let Christine say 'hi' but she's out like a light."

'That's okay. We'll call in the morning."

"Okay. Have a good trip."

"We will. I love you, Parker."

"I love you too, Bones."

B&B

The next morning Booth headed to the diner they'd found on the boardwalk during the summer for coffee. When he got back Brennan met him in the lobby.

"Got your deaf, Bones. Let's go have coffee on the beach."

"I've been looking forward to this for weeks…" Brennan took her coffee from Booth and took a sip.

"I know, I have too. What do you want to do after breakfast?"

"Can we take a picnic to the Cape Henry Lighthouse again? And climb to the top? I didn't go the first time."

"Sure. Hank was mad he couldn't climb with us."

"He was. He'd be tall enough now."

"Yeah."

"I love you, Booth."

"I love you too, Bones." they kissed and headed to the beach.

* * *

**A/N: B&B's babymoon will last a chapter or two….**


	63. Chapter 63 Recreational Activities

Booth and Brennan were finishing their second morning of coffee on the beach. "What do you want to do today, Bones?"

"I know we should do something recreational, but I'd like to sit and read for a while. Not all day, but a portion of it."

"We can do that, reading is recreational. We spent all day yesterday at the lighthouse. Plus we just walked for 45 minutes drinking coffee. Let's go back to the hotel for breakfast "

"Okay."

After breakfast Brennan went to their room and grabbed her book and headed for the balcony off their room. Booth joined her a few minutes later. "Trashy romance, Bones?"

Brennan looked up from the book, "Yes, when I told Angela that I'd hoped to do some reading on this trip she insisted that I read some of these. Parker also gave me The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first four books in the Harry Potter series to read…"

"Switch to Harry Potter, Bones."

"I am once I finish this book. The story line is simple, but I am enjoying it…"

Booth chuckled kissed Brennan's cheek, "Okay. I'm going to read the local paper and USA Today, then I'm going to do the crossword."

"I have crossword, word search and Sudoku books in my bag if you'd like to do more, Booth."

"I can't do your genius level crossword, word search and Sudoku puzzles, Bones…"

"I know that, Booth. That's why I got medium level difficulty for you and hard level difficulty for me."

"Thanks, Bones." Booth sat down in the chair next to Brennan's and opened the local paper.

"You're welcome, Booth. I hope the children are doing something besides watching TV the whole time we're gone."

"I'm sure they're watching more TV than we allow…it's vacation. I know Parker is taking them and Sunny to the park everyday if it's nice out. He also mentioned going to the museum again. They're having the time of their young lives, Bones. Relax and go back to your smut book."

"It's not smut, Booth."

"Bones, those books are almost porn…"

"…And how would you know?"

"Mom read them, I snuck one when I was eleven, and it scarred me for life…"

Brennan laughed, "Read your paper, Booth…."

A little bit later Brennan finished the book and looked up to find Booth asleep. She quietly got up and went inside to get the first Harry Potter book and two blankets. Brennan went back out on the balcony and carefully covered Booth up and kissed his cheek before wrapping up herself and entering the magical world of Harry Potter.


	64. Chapter 64 Baby It's Not Hot Outside

It was Booth and Brennan's last full day of their babymoon, Booth stepped out on the balcony and quickly came back inside. "Bones, we're not having coffee on the beach today, it's too cold!"

Brennan walked out of the bathroom, "Booth, it's not that cold…" she picked up her phone and opened the weather app. "Oh! It's only 31 degrees out…"

"Yeah, I knew that it wouldn't be hot like it was when we were here this summer, but this is too cold. Let's drive to the diner and have breakfast."

"Okay."

A half hour later Brennan was eating a fruit plate while Booth ate a western omelet. "We should head home this morning."

"No, Bones. We told Parker we'd be home tomorrow afternoon, that's what we're gonna do."

"Most museums that hold any interest to me have closed for the season. It's too cold to walk the trails like we have been. It's also too cold to sit on our balcony and read."

"We can stop by the store on our way back to the hotel and get some snacks and watch movies in our room all day. We can talk and do other things…"

"That does sound nice."

"Yeah, we can watch a movie without little people interrupting us."

That would be nice…"

B&B

When they got back to their room Booth put the cold items they got in the mini fridge and settled back on the couch and started flipping through the channels, Brennan joined him a few minutes later.

"I'm worried about Hank…"

Booth turned off the TV and turned to Brennan, "Why, Bones?"

"I'm worried he isn't going to accept Max. A few days ago I was getting him ready for bed and I asked him if he was excited about the baby and he just climbed in my lap and didn't say anything. He is getting clingier too. I had to stay at daycare a few days ago when I dropped him off. I've never had to stay before. I found him in Parker's old room pulling apart the boxes of his baby stuff I had you put in there. He insisted on playing with baby toys for most of the day…"

"Bones, there's nothing with Hank playing with baby toys, some of them are really fun to play with."

"I know, I'm not concerned about that. I'm more concerned about his lack of interest in the baby and being overly clingy."

"The clinginess is probably a phase, he'll come out of it soon enough. He might just want little extra mommy time too. We've got five months to get him excited for the baby. Everything will work out, Bones."

"I know. I'm excited and nervous about having another baby. Every time we have a baby something bad happens. After Christine was born I had to leave you and go on the run from Pelant. Then after that was behind us the house got blown up, you almost died and then you went to jail for four months and I had no idea if we'd ever see you again. When I was pregnant with Hank you had a gambling relapse and I had to make you leave for thirty days. I hoped the entire time you were gone that you'd be strong enough to overcome your addiction and come home to me and Christine. After Hank ws born Jared got in trouble and you disappeared trying to help him and you got shot and almost died. Then dad…"

"Bones, I promise nothing bad is going to happen to us after Max is born…"

"You don't know that... "

"I do. I know that the rest of you pregnancy will be uneventful, Max will be perfect and Hank will fall in love with him and be the best big brother ever…"

"I hope so too, Booth. I love you." Brennan leaned over and kissed Booth.

"I love you too, Bones. They're having a John Wayne marathon on the western channel."

"I love The Duke."

"I know you do, Bones." Booth turned the TV on and pulled Brennan closer. They spent the rest of the morning and afternoon watching movies and talking. They went to a restaurant on the boardwalk for dinner and got bundled up to watch the sunset on the balcony and facetime the kids.

B&B

The next morning Booth and Brennan checked out of the hotel got bundled up and had a quick coffee on the beach before heading to the diner for breakfast before they headed home.

"Did you enjoy our babymoon, Bones?"

"Yes, I just wish it hadn't been so cold yesterday…"

"Me too, but we had a good day with watching movies and having snacks all to ourselves."

"Yes, I especially enjoyed what we did after we facetimed the children…"

"That was great…"

Booth barely had the door open before Christine, Hank and Sunny met them. MOMMY! DADDY! You're home! We missed you so much!" Brennan scooped up Hank while Booth did the same with Christine. "We missed you so much too."

"Even Parker?"

Booth laughed and kissed Christine's head "of course we missed Parker! Did you have fun spending the weekend with him?"

"Yep! We went to the park twice and had a picnic there once. We went to the museum and looked at the dinosaurs again, they were Hank's favorite. I liked the mummies the best." Booth smiled at Brennan over Christine's head, remembering their own encounter with the mummies at the Jeffersonian. "We had a taco bar night at Aunt Angela's last night…"

"That all sounds really fun…"

"We made a fort and slept in it every night… Parker said we have to sleep in our beds tonight though…" Hank pouted a little, Brennan kissed his forehead.

"You have to sleep in your beds so you'll be well rested for school in the morning. You can build another fort on Friday after you get home from school and sleep in it until Sunday night."

"Okay, mommy!" Hank smiled. "Come play in our fort, mommy and daddy!"

"We will after we take our bags to our room, tiger. While we do that, why don't you and Parker take Sunny outside? Then add some more blankets and sheets to your fort to make it bigger so mommy and I have plenty of room to sit in there with you guys."

"Okay daddy!"

Booth and Brennan put Christine and Hank on the ground before they headed to their room with their bags. Twenty minutes later the fort had been expanded and Booth and Brennan crawled under with the remainders of their movie snacks to play games with Christine, Hank and Parker.


	65. Chapter 65Excited for the Holiday Season

It was two weeks before Thanksgiving and Booth and Brennan hadn't really made planes yet.

"Bones, what are we going to do for Thanksgiving this year?"

"I think it's just going to be the five of us this year. Cam and Arastoo are having their families over for Thanksgiving. She asked if I could make those pumpkin bars I made last year for them."

"Those were really good."

"I know. I'm making some for us. Tyler asked her if she could ask me to make macaroni cheese for them as well."

Booth chuckled," smart kid."

"I'm making a big batch so they can have some and us. Angela and Hodgins are getting Jeffery out of the facility for the day. I should take them some as well, it's Hodgins and Michael Vincent's favorite…"

"It's everybody's favorite, Bones."

"Yes."

"I'm excited for the holiday season this year. It's the first time since Rebecca and I lived together the first 14 months of Parker's life that I get to spend both holidays with him. It was always one or the other or none. More none than anything…"

"Yes, I'm happy that we're all going to be together this year. We should invite Aubrey, he has no one…"

"I'll ask him tomorrow."

"Good."

B&B

The day before Thanksgiving Brennan made triple batches of macaroni and cheese and pumpkin bars. She took Hank along to help make her deliveries. While they were gone Booth and Parker got a head start on the turkey and sides.

"I can't wait for tomorrow. Mom would make Thanksgiving dinner for us after we moved to England, but it wasn't the same.

"I know, I can't wait either. It's been a while since you've been here for Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, last time Hank was a baby. I really can't wait for Christmas…"

"Are you sure your mom doesn't mind you not going home?"

"Garth is taking her to France on the 22ad through the 5th. She doesn't know. I could go with them, but I don't want to spend Christmas in a hotel. He's telling her on the way to the airport. I'm skyping them on Christmas. Garth is packing their gifts I sent last week. I'm going there for Spring Break."

"That sounds good. Can you start making the stuffing for Bones with the mushrooms and veggie broth?"

"Sure." Parker started peeling onions.

B&B

The next morning the kids slept in and were having a late breakfast of breakfast burritos while watching the original Charlie and The Chocolate Factory when the doorbell rang. Booth walked over and answered it. "Aubrey!"

"Hey Booth. I know I'm really early for dinner, but I got really bored at home…"

"It's fine Aubrey. The kids got up a little while ago, they're eating breakfast burritos a watching the original Charlie and The Chocolate Factory."

"That sounds good."

"Go sit down, I'll make you a burrito. Bacon and sausage?"

"Thanks. Yeah. Can I have two?"

"Yeah." Aubrey took off his coat and hung it on the coat tree and walked over to the couch. "Cool fort."

"Parker helped us make it. Mommy said we can play in it when we get done eating."

"Cool."

"Will you play in it with us, Uncle Aubrey?"

"Of course munchkin…"

"Yea!"

Aubrey at down on the couch just as Booth brought over his breakfast burritos and hash browns with a big cup of coffee.

"Thanks, Booth. This looks so good."

"You're welcome, Aubrey. Anybody else need anything?"

"More strawberries, please, daddy…"

"You got it, buddy."

B&B

They spent the rest of the morning and afternoon working on their dinner talking, watching movies and playing games. After dinner everybody watched The Wizard of Oz, when the movie ended Brennan looked down at Hank who was sleeping in her arms. "He's going to be disappointed, he wanted to sleep in the fort tonight."

"I'll pull the side back and put him in his sleeping bag."

"Booth, he can go to bed…"

"It's his favorite thing right now…" Booth shrugged and got up, walking over to the fort he pulled the side up. then he took Hank from Brennan and carefully made his way to the boy's sleeping bag and laid him down in it an zipped it up without waking Hank up. Booth walked out from under the fort and pulled the side back in place. "Success! Christine are you going to sleep in the fort?"

"Yep! Parker are you going to sleep in the fort with us?"

"Eh, why not?"

"Yea!"

"Christine get your pajamas on and brush your teeth…"

"Okay, Mommy!" Christine skipped to the bathroom.

"I guess I should get going then. Thanks for inviting me, this was the best Thanksgiving I've had in a long time. It was so much fun…"

"You're welcome Aubrey. We're glad you came."

"Bones and Angela are going shopping tomorrow. Hodgins is bringing their leftovers and the kids over about 11, we're all hanging out and basically doing what we did today all day. You're welcome to come over and hang out with us…"

"Thanks, I'll be here. Bye Booth, Brennan."

"Goodbye Aubrey." Brennan walked him to the door.


	66. Chapter 66 Baby Shower

Brennan had five weeks before her due date, she and Booth had transformed Hank's room back into a nursery after they'd move him into Parker's old room Thanksgiving weekend. Hank liked his new room, but he still preferred to sleep in the fort on the weekends. Hank was coming around to being a big brother and was mostly happy about it. He still hung onto Brennan like a barnacle sometimes though. Christine was anxiously awaiting Max's arrival. Brennan was doing paperwork when Angela walked in her office. "Hey Sweetie."

"Hello Angela." Angela sat down across from Brennan's desk.

"I've scheduled your baby shower for next weekend…"

"I don't need a baby shower, I still have all of Hank's baby things. Booth and I are getting a new car seat tomorrow."

"Max needs a few new things. A new coming home from the hospital outfit at least…"

"Christine picked out a sleeper with trains on it and a matching hat. He'll come home in that…"

"That sounds adorable."

"It is."

"If you don't want a shower how about lunch at my house with Cam and Daisy?"

"That would be acceptable."

"Good. What do you want eat?'

"Whatever you decide is fine…"

"No. what has Max been craving?"

Brennan bit her lip and looked down at her paperwork, "Booth's lasagna. He's made it for me the last two weekends. He's making it again tomorrow."

"I'll get him to make some. Anything else?"

"Brownies, without nuts, they've been giving me heartburn…"

"Okay."

B&B

The next Saturday Booth dropped off the requested lasagna when he picked Michael Vincent to take him and Christine to the movies for the afternoon. A few hours later Booth met Brennan at the door when she came home and relived her of some of the bags she was carrying. "Thanks Booth."

"You're welcome, Bones. You should have called from the car, I'd got all this inside for you."

"I'm perfectly capable of carrying a few bags, Booth…"

"I know. What is it anyway?"

"A few outfits, but it's mostly diapers and wipes… there are two more boxes of diapers in my car…"

"I'll get them. Did you have a nice lunch?"

"Yes. I was going to bring the leftover lasagna home, but Angela claimed it. She let me bring the brownies home though. "

"Fair trade…"

"Yes. Daisy is seeing someone…"

"Good for her. Sweets would want her to be happy and if that meant being in a relationship he wouldn't mind."

"That's what we all told her. She said it feels like she's betraying Sweets by dating this other man…"

"I understand. They were soulmates, she'll never love anyone else the way she loved Sweets. If something happened and we weren't together anymore and I ever felt like dating again I wouldn't love another woman as much as I love you."

"If we weren't together anymore I wouldn't date anyone else, ever. Did you enjoy the movie?"

"Yeah it was a decent kid's movie for once. "

"That's good."

"Hank enjoyed his afternoon with Parker, they went shopping for something for Max. I don't know what it is, but Hank is excited about giving it to him."

"Good. Hopefully his excitement continues after max is here."

"I think it will…"

B&B

"Bones, I think you should stay home today…"

"Booth, Dr. Miller said I could work as long as I feel up to it and I feel up to it!"

"…But today is your due date!"

"I'm well aware what day it is, Booth. If we get a case Ms. Warren and Aubrey can handle it. I'm just going to be in my office doing paperwork."

"I still don't like it…"

"Would you feel better if you were with me all day?"

"Yes. Let me call Starke then we can stop by my office so I can get my paperwork."

"Okay." The day passed without indent. "Bones, are you ready to head home?"

"Yes. Can we stop by Momma's and get soup for dinner?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just tired…"

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Booth." Booth kissed Brennan.

After they had dinner Brennan helped Christine with her homework. Then she helped Hank get ready for bed and read to him longer than normal. As Brennan was leaving Hank's room she passed Booth coming out of Christine's room. "Booth, after I tell Christine goodnight we need to get ready to go to the hospital…"

"Bones!"

"I'm fine, I started having contractions when I was helping Hank with his bath…"

"That was 45 minutes ago! You should have told me sooner!"

"I'm fine. I didn't want to scare Hank… we'll make it to the hospital in time. Go tell Parker and make sure he's okay with getting Christine to school and Hank to daycare in the morning." Booth nodded slightly as Brennan went in Christine's room. Ten minutes later Booth was guiding Brennan out the door. "Don't forget to take Sunny out before you go to bed… Don't forget Christine and Hank's lunches… Don't…" Parker went over to Brennan, "Bones, I got it. Go have a baby!" Parker kissed Brennan's cheek and chuckled as Booth got her out the door.

B&B

An hour later Booth and Brennan were settled in Brennan's hospital room. "You finally got what you wanted, Booth…"

"What?"

"You've always wanted our children born in the hospital…"

"It does make me feel better knowing that if something happens to you or Max there are doctors here that can help you. I have to admit Hank's birth was nice with just us and the midwife at home too though. At least I didn't have to deliver him…"

"If Sarah had been fifteen minutes later you would have had to…"

"I know." Booth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You wanna walk for a little bit?"

"Yes." Booth helped Brennan sit up then after a few minutes he helped her stand and they left the room.

They were on their third lap around the floor when Brennan tightened her grip on Booth's Hand. "You okay, Bones?"

"Yes things are progressing a little faster now…Brennan stopped and wrapped her arms around Booth, he kissed her hair. "That's a good thing right?"

"Yes though I wish things were progressing a little faster, I'm tired of being pregnant…"

"It will be over soon. I love you so much, Bones." Brennan just nodded and gripped Booth tighter. A while later they were back in Brennan's room, Booth was rubbing her back in an attempt to ease the pain a little. "Bones, this is nuts, let them give you something to at least take the edge off the pain."

"I'm fine, Booth. I was in a lot more pain with Hank…"

"I don't remember that…"

"I'll feel better once I stand up…" Booth nodded and helped Brennan up.

"Better?"

Brennan smiled a little. "For now, yes…" Booth gently kissed Brennan's cheek.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Booth."

Doctor Miller came in a little later to check on Brennan. "Are you two ready to meet your little guy?"

"Yes."

"Good, he's ready to meet you…"

The next half hour passed in a blur of activity for Brennan, before she knew it Doctor Miller was placing a crying, wiggly Max in her arms. Booth leaned over and put his arm around Brennan, "He was born at exactly 11:49pm Bones…"

"Happy first day of spring, Max. I love you…"

An hour later they were settled into Brennan's quiet room once again. "How are you feeling, Bones?"

"I'm happy, tired, sore, and hungry."

"I grabbed some of the kid's snacks before we left. I grabbed granola bars, those cheese crackers fruit snacks and squeeze-y applesauce."

"I'll take an applesauce and a granola bar, please."

Booth got the snacks from a small bag Brennan hadn't noticed before brought them over to her. "Trade you Max for the snacks…" Brennan chuckled as she handed the baby to Booth.

"Hey little guy, I love you so much!"

"Booth you should take Max's picture and send it to Parker, Angela, and d-"Brennan started blinking and trying and failing to open her granola bar. Booth sat down on the edge of the bed and shifted Max in his arms. "Bones, it's okay to cry about your dad not being here to meet his namesake. Max and your mom know all about him and Parker, Christine and Hank…"

"I wish he was in the waiting room or waiting at home with the kids…."

"I know, me too." Booth took the granola bar from Brennan's hands and opened it. "Eat then go to sleep you've been awake for 19 hours…" Booth kissed Brennan then moved to the chair across from her bed with Max.

B&B

A few hours later Christine found Parker in the kitchen making their lunches. "Parker where are mommy and daddy?

"They're at the hospital. Mom had the baby the baby last night…"

"Yea! Can we go see them?"

"I'll take you both after school. Dad sent some pictures." Parker handed Christine his phone. "Crust on or off?"

"Off."

"Where's mommy and daddy?"

"They're at the hospital. Mom had the baby the baby last night…" Hank burst into tears, Parker grabbed his phone from Christine. "Dad sent pictures…" Parker held the phone where Hank could see it, the three year old just pushed the phone away. Parker sighed and picked up Hank and started towards Booth and Brennan's room to facetime Booth in private. "Christine, feed Sonny, I already took her outside. Then fix your own cereal, I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay."

B&B

Late that afternoon Parker carried Hank into Brennan's hospital room and sat him on the bed next to her. "Hey Bones!"

"Hello Parker. I heard you had a little bit of a rough morning…"

"Yeah…" Brennan smiled and hugged him before turning her attention to Hank who was as close to her as he could get holding on to her pajama top with one hand while clutching a big gift bag in the other. Brennan pried his fingers from her shirt. "Hi Hank."

"Hi mommy, I missed you."

"I missed you too, buddy. Do you want to meet Max now?"

"NO!"

"Okay we'll let Christine and Parker meet him first then." Brennan kissed the top of Hank's head and watched as Booth placed Max in Christine 's arms and moved to help her support him. "Mommy, he's so little!"

"Yes, he's a pound smaller than Hank was when he was born…" Brennan smiled when she realized Christine wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. After a while it was Parker's turn to meet Max. "I've never held a baby this new before, Bones!"

"I know." Booth carefully placed the baby in Parker's arms. "Hey Max, I'm your big brother, Parker. Your grandpa Max was unique, I'll tell you about him when you're older. I'll even show you how to blow up a 2 liter of pop. " After a while Parker gave Max back to Booth, he carried him over to Brennan's bed and sat down beside her. "What's in the bag, Hank?"

"A present for Max…"

"It was nice of you to get him a present. Do you want to open it for him?" Hank nodded and began pulling the tissue paper out of the bag, Brennan held on to the bag as Hank pulled out a stuffed chicken…

"You got him a stuffed chicken?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Well, I think it's adorable. I think Max will love it. We'll put it on his dresser when we get home tomorrow."

"Okay." Brennan smiled as Hank reached over and touched Max's hand with one finger.

B&B

Thanks to a half day due to teacher in service Parker, Christine, and Hank were home when Booth and Brennan came home with Max the next afternoon. "MOMMY!" Hank made a beeline for Brennan as soon as she came through the door, Booth stopped him. "Let mommy sit down then you can go hug her gently. You can't tackle mommy for a few weeks."

"K."

After Hank hugged Brennan he watched as she lifted Max from his car seat. "Hank, would you like to hold Max? I'll help you."

Hank nodded slightly, Brennan smiled and placed a throw pillow in his lap and laid Max down. Booth quietly snapped a picture. When Hank was done holding Max Brennan decided to go lay down and take a nap, she took Max with her. She hadn't been asleep long when the sound of crying woke her up. After getting up and seeing Max was still asleep, Brennan made her way to the kitchen. Hank ran for her, Booth picked him up and Hank started trying to get away from Booth. "Hank calm down, I'm just picking you up to give you to mommy…" Hank went still and waited as Brennan sat down and Booth put him in her lap. "What's wrong, Buddy?"

"Daddy made my peanut butter and jelly wrong. The peanut butter is supposed to go on the bottom not the top!"

Brennan bit her lip to keep from laughing as she dried Hank's tears with a napkin. "Would you like me to make you another one with the peanut butter on the bottom?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. Go sit at the table." Hank hopped down from Brennan's lap. She picked up the offending PB&J and walked around the counter and as soon as Hank wasn't watching she flipped the sandwich over and cut it in half again so it was in four pieces, the way she always cut Hank's sandwiches. Brennan walked back over to the table and gave Hank his 'new' PB&J, she watched the three year old look at each fourth making sure the peanut butter was on the bottom.

"Thank you, mommy."

"You're welcome, buddy." Brennan kissed the top of Hank's head before going to make her own PB&J. After eating lunch Brennan went and laid down again. Just as she drifted off the bed dipped as Hank crawled up next to her, she pulled him close and covered him up. A minute later Booth came in," Hank, let's let mommy sleep. Parker is taking Chrissy to FunFlatables."

"I want to stay with mommy! "

"Hank…"

"Booth, he can stay, hopefully he'll feel better after a nap…"

"Okay." Booth walked over and pulled the covers over them both. "I love you, both."

"We love you too, Booth." Booth checked on Max before quietly leaving the bedroom.

A/N: this is the last chapter of Bonesology's 2019 summer challenge. I used all 68 words from the list in 66 chapters. (I used 3 words from the list in chapter 53) Max's due date of 3/19/20 and time of 11:50PM was mentioned in chapter 33 also is the official start of spring. Hope everyone enjoyed this for reading it for almost a year


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